Despite her entire litter being rehomed, Pinky, a former stray who had been found pregnant by Chicago Animal Care & Control, is still searching for a forever home.
The dog has now spent more than 230 days at Border Tails Rescue (BTR), a prominent no-kill animal shelter in the Chicagoland area. Founded in 2019 by Harleigh Garcia, a "passionate" 20-year-old, BTR has risen to become one of the largest rescue centers in the region.
"Pinky was originally found as a stray by Chicago Animal Care & Care who found her to be pregnant," Tori, a press officer at BTR who did not give her surname, told Newsweek.
"We took her into our care where she had her puppies, and we raised the whole litter from the day they were born. Each of the puppies have found their forever homes, but Pinky is still searching for hers. She is looking for a loving family that will keep her active and has no other pets," Tori added.
In 2023 alone, the shelter facilitated more than 2,200 adoptions and returned numerous lost dogs to their owners. BTR also extended its efforts to international rescues across the U.S. border into Puerto Rico and Mexico. The shelter prides itself on having an elevated medical focus in the complicated world of animal sheltering.
Despite these successes, Pinky remains in the shelter's care, while staff are desperately trying to place her with a forever family.
Pinky's story highlights a concerning issue faced by many rescue organizations: the struggle to find homes for dogs-in-need.
The shelter (@bordertailsrescue) decided to share Pinky's tearjerking story online six days ago, in the hope of alerting people who are seeking a rescue dog to her existence. The TikTok post, which chronicles her long stint at the shelter, has been viewed more than 1.7 million times to date.
The post has been captioned: "The shelter can be hard on dogs. If you are looking to adopt or foster, please consider long term dogs!"
Similar tales of long-term shelter residents have recently gained media attention, sparking a nationwide debate on pet adoption.
Newsweek reported on a pit bull mix back in August who had melted hearts online but remained in a San Diego shelter for over two years without a single adoption application.
Three months later, a Newsweek investigation revealed that there has been a drop in dog adoptions across U.S. rescue shelters and that many shelters are now running over capacity as a result.
Do you have funny and adorable videos or pictures of your pet you want to share? Send them to life@newsweek.com with some details about your best friend, and they could appear in our Pet of the Week lineup.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Melissa Fleur Afshar is a Newsweek Life and Trends Reporter based in London, United Kingdom.
Her current focus is on trending ... Read more
