A dog who was adopted after spending over 900 days in an animal shelter has suffered the heartbreak of being returned just 24 hours later.
Sora first arrived at the Valley Animal Center in Fresno, California, just over two and a half years ago, having been surrendered by her owner. The Valley Animal Center is the largest no-kill animal center in the Central Valley.
For over 900 days, Sora struggled to attract much in the way of attention. That’s not entirely surprising given the circumstances, with a 2014 study published in Applied Animal Behaviour Science highlighting how the average shelter visitor interacts with just one dog per visit and that these interactions last just eight minutes.
But staff at the shelter knew Sora had all the attributes necessary to make a great pet.
“Sora is a high-energy dog who loves to play and gets super excited anytime she gets to go on walks,” Sim Kaur from the Valley Animal Center told Newsweek.
“She is great on walks and hikes, making her a good traveling companion. She also loves playing with tennis balls. She is lovable with humans and has tested well with children over the age of five.”
Despite being overlooked for so long, Sora’s luck looked to have changed recently after she caught the eye of a prospective pet owner visiting the shelter. Eventually, they decided to adopt the pup, and it seemed like Sora’s story would get the happy ending it so richly deserved.
Then, every shelter pet’s worst nightmare happened. Just a day later, her new owner called to say they would be returning the rescue pup. Sora was understandably heartbroken upon her arrival at the shelter, with a video posted to TikTok by @jjack.iie capturing the shelter dog looking especially sad to be back in familiar surroundings.
This development was a source of some frustration to Kaur who felt Sora’s adopters should have given her more time to settle before making their decision.
“Being in a shelter for many years affects the mental health of our adoptables and it is no different for Sora,” she said. “Sora did not get enough time to decompress in her new home and was introduced to new family members too quickly.”
She hasn’t given up hope of finding Sora the perfect home, though, and has already got a pretty clear idea of the sort of home that would suit her best.
Kaur said: “Although Sora does well with other dogs at the shelter, she is dog-selective, so we recommend she go to a home where she is the only pet. With her high energy, her future home will need to spend dedicated time with her for training.”
Despite this setback, she remains as sure as ever that Sora will find her true forever home in due course.
“With patience and guidance, we know Sora can be a great addition to anyone’s family.”
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This story was originally published February 24, 2024, 9:00 AM.
source: star-telegram
