14-year-old dog was heartbroken after being surrendered to shelter — but now she’s getting a new start

It’s always heartbreaking when dogs are surrendered to shelters by their owners. These poor pets are left heartbroken, wondering where their family has gone and when they’re going home.

It’s even sadder when a senior dog is abandoned — these dogs are upended from the only homes they’ve ever known and are left to spend the rest of their lives in shelters.

Recently, one shelter shared the sad story of a heartbroken senior dog surrendered by her family… but now she’s getting a second chance.

On June 26, Friends Forever Animal Rescue shared a photo of a 14-year-old golden retriever named Sophia who had been surrendered by her family, who said they could no longer care for the dog because they were moving.

“The owner told us that she had been driving around to different shelters looking for someone to take the dog, and we were her last stop,” Casey Newton, the shelter’s founder, told CNY Central.

She said the owners “lacked emotion” while dropping off the dog: “It was like it was a couch that didn’t work with the living room anymore, or clothing that didn’t fit.”

You can the heartbreak on Sophia’s face as it dawns on her that her family has left her behind — “the face of a 14 year old dog who just lost her home.”

“To see Sophia’s reaction as the car drove away – wondering ‘Where are you going?’” Newton said. “I think that is the hardest part because we see it so often. It is so sad.”

“She is confused and wondering where her people are and where she is going,” the shelter’s Facebook post reads. “How do I tell her she is safe? How to I make her understand she didn’t do anything wrong?”

Despite the heartbreaking circumstances, the shelter resolved to give the senior dog the life she deserved.

“She may not understand it now, but in the end when it really matters she will feel love and me holding her paw and kissing her head telling her that she is a good girl and she was very loved by me and will be missed because I refused to give up on her.”

And thankfully, Sophia’s sad story has a happy ending. In an update, Friends Forever Animal Rescue announced that Sophia has been adopted by one of the shelter’s vets!

Sophia will get to “live out the rest of her life with him and his family,” the shelter wrote. “We couldn’t have asked for a better place for this little old lady.”