A dog who was abandoned by his family and left chained to a bench alongside a heartfelt note has finally found a home.
Boston, a seven-year-old Golden Retriever mix, was first discovered on November 22 in Mexico alongside a note that begged for someone to adopt him.
He had been left without food or water and, at first, the animal tried to bite passers by coming to his aid, due to his fear of people – but he has now found a loving family to adopt him.
Boston, a seven-year-old golden retriever mix, was first discovered on November 22 in Mexico alongside a note that begged for someone to adopt him
The pooch was found alongside a note, weighed down by a rock, which read: ‘Hi, please adopt me: Max. Please, I ask that you adopt this cute dog and you take good care of him.
‘It hurts a lot to leave my dog here but I made the decision of leaving him because my family used to mistreat him, and it would always hurt me to see him in that condition.
‘If you’re reading this and your heart wavers, please adopt him and take good care of him.
‘If not, please leave this note in its place. That way others can read it and adopt him. Thank you.’
The pooch had been left without food or water and, at first, the animal tried to bite passers by coming to his aid due to his fear of people
The terrified pup has now been rescued by Marcela Goldberg, 54, (pictured together) who runs a pet shelter called Mascotas Coyoacán
Thankfully, the terrified pup has now been rescued by Marcela Goldberg, 54, who runs a pet shelter called Mascotas Coyoacán.
She is a biologist and has run the shelter since 2011 alongside six volunteers – regularly rescuing cats and dogs from the street or in cases of abuse.
‘He was physically in good shape when we discovered him but had been left without water or food since the early morning when he was abandoned and we arrived at around 5pm,’ Marcela said.
‘The locals had tried to help him but they had to approach him with food and water on a long stick because he was very nervous and kept trying to bite anyone who approached.
‘Thankfully they managed to feed him some sausages on a stick because he was so famished.’
The pup attempted to bite Marcela multiple times when she approached him as he was nervous but she was able to gain his trust with food and the help of a trainer (pictured on the ride to the shelter)
Boston is now staying with Marcela at Mascotas Coyoacán while he undergoes a medical examination but will soon be re-homed with a loving family
The pup attempted to bite Marcela multiple times when she approached him as he was nervous but she was able to gain his trust with food and the help of a trainer.
She said: ‘He was tied up in such a way that I had to free the collar from the leash, which was impossible to do without getting bitten.
‘So I had to put a new leash around his neck and cut out the one holding him to the bench.
‘Once he was released, he changed his attitude. He was extremely scared but did not try to bite again.
‘We walked him to the car and had to struggle a bit to get him inside, but once inside he started to relax and we were able to touch him and caress him with protection gloves for the first time.’
Marcela said she has been working with Boston (pictured together) in gaining confidence around people so his future home will not have an issue with people from outside the family
Boston is now staying with Marcela at Mascotas Coyoacán while he undergoes a medical examination, but will soon be re-homed with a loving family that decided to adopt him.
She said: ‘We are working with him in gaining confidence around people so his future home will not have an issue with people from outside the family.
‘He is learning to trust and is really happy, playing with balls and behaving like a puppy should.’
Marcela noted that there has been an exponential increase in the number of abandoned dogs due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
She added: ‘Mexican people are having a really hard time because a lot of people work in an informal economy that has been severely affected by the Covid pandemic and are no longer able to feed their pets.
‘Plus, many of them don’t think that pets are family but things, so it is the first expense they are cutting off, sadly.
‘And there are thousands and thousands of dogs wandering, dogs that had a home not so long ago.’
If you would like to donate to Mascotas Coyoacán, you can do so here: PayPal.me/mascotascoyoacan.