Abandoned but not Forgotten

As we close out the year, we are facing a heartbreaking reality: more pets than ever are being surrendered or abandoned because their families simply cannot afford to care for them. Rising living costs, veterinary expenses, and financial strain are pushing people into making difficult decisions – giving up their beloved companions.

At Homeward Pet, we are seeing this crisis every week. Owner surrenders are climbing. More families are reaching out for help, devastated but desperate to give their pets a chance at stability. In recent months, multiple animals have been abandoned at our shelter, found tied to our gate or left outside our doors in their kennels – because their owners saw no other option.

Although abandonment isn’t encouraged or the path we hope for, our safe surrender process exists to give pets and their families a secure and supported transition into our care.

When someone is overwhelmed, out of resources, and out of time, they look to us because what they want, more than anything, is for their pet to make it through this difficult moment and find the stable, loving future they deserve.

Uber was found tied to a picnic table on our property with a note that read: “This is Uber. Please take care of him, he is a good boy.”

The note highlighted a heartbreaking reality: his owner was battling a terminal illness that was progressing much faster than doctors predicted. They had hoped for more time to find him a home, dreading the moment they’d have to say goodbye to their only source of support.

But with no family and no other options, they left him at the only place they trusted to care for him.

Though he arrived scared, Uber quickly found love – first in the hands of our volunteers, and then in the warmth of a foster family. But tragically, his journey took another turn. Our vet staff discovered that Uber was suffering from inoperable cancer, and we had to lead him, paw in hand, to a peace none of us wanted for him.

Uber never knew he hadn’t found a “forever” home in the traditional sense. To him, he was home. His final two months were filled with a sunny backyard, cozy spa days, and a loving foster family. He met hundreds of new friends who told him how perfect he was every single day.

His life may have been short, but he changed ours forever.

Chickpea was also abandoned.

When her family packed up and moved away, they left her behind in the only neighborhood she had ever known. She spent countless days searching for the familiar faces and the loving hands she remembered.

While she didn’t find her previous family, fate led her to a different kind of miracle.

She found herself in the yard of a kind-hearted Good Samaritan. While this person couldn’t keep her, they knew where to go. They placed Chickpea in a carrier and left her safely outside Homeward Pet’s gates just before dawn. Attached to the carrier was a handwritten note—a sincere plea for help: “I’m sorry to just drop her off but I didn’t know what to do. Please help her find a good home.”

Initially, Chickpea was terrified, cowering in the corner of the carrier, unsure if this was just another heartache. But as she was handled with gentleness and warmth, she slowly began to understand: she was safe.

We coordinated with our local animal care agency to care for her during her mandated stray hold.

Because of caring people like you, we were able to give Chickpea everything she needed during her stay with us: medical care, a warm bed, and a promise that she would never be alone again. After the required stray hold, we officially put Chickpea up for adoption.

And despite her shaky, lonely beginnings, Chickpea’s story has the happiest ending: she found a lovely, forever home.

Left behind without explanation, Echo has been having a particularly hard time adjusting to life at the shelter.

Abandonment is confusing for any animal, but for Echo, the transition has seemed especially heartbreaking. He cries for hours, unsure why everything he knew is no longer. His world changed overnight, and all he can do is call out for people who are no longer there.

Our behavior team is working closely with him – sitting quietly near his kennel, offering gentle reassurance, and helping him build small moments of safety. They’re teaching him that he’s not alone, that hands can be kind, and that, even though this chapter began in fear, it won’t end that way.

With time, patience, and the right support, Echo will learn to trust again.

And with your help, he’ll have the chance to move from confusion and heartbreak toward healing and hope.

Recently, a staff member arriving early in the morning for their shift found Rockefeller alone in a crate left outside our gate.

He was scared, extremely anxious, and he was in bad shape – painfully underweight, dehydrated, and suffering from severe diarrhea. We later learned he was fighting an uncomfortable parasite called Coccidia on top of everything else.

We let the local animal control agency know we had him and accepted responsibility for handling his mandatory stray hold and began treatment immediately. He received anti-parasitic medications, anti-nausea support, hydration, and a behavior medication plan designed to help him feel safe and calm as he healed.

Slowly, Rockefeller is improving. He’s steadily gaining weight, his system is stabilizing. He has moments where he lets his guard down, allowing a glimpse of the friendly, goofy dog hidden beneath the fear.

But his fight is far from over.

Rockefeller still requires dedicated medical oversight, patient and consistent behavioral rehabilitation, and above all, time to heal – a gift he may not have received if he hadn’t landed on our doorstep.

This holiday season, your compassion can be the lifeline that guides pets from fear to healing on their journey home.

Because of your generosity, every animal who comes to Homeward Pet (whatever their story) will be welcomed with care, dignity, and a real chance to begin again.

Please help us continue saying yes to the animals who have nowhere else to turn.