Tears at Overlooked Dog With 'Biggest Heart' Adopted and Returned Twice

The heartbreaking story of a dog called Moose has gone viral on social media after the animal sanctuary that is currently hosting him revealed that the pup has been longing for a family for more than 520 days, but nobody has stepped forward yet.

Mayflower Animal Sanctuary in Doncaster, U.K., told Newsweek that the 5-year-old, mixed-breed dog, has endured the heartbreak of two failed adoptions, and he still hasn't found the family that he deserves.

A post shared on TikTok earlier in March, under the username mayflower.sanctuary, explains: "Yet another sweet boy, stuck and overlooked in kennels. He will give you all the love in the world and MORE. He has the biggest heart and will make the most amazing companion for someone, we are so sure of it. Please take a chance on the underdogs—you will have our full support."

dog in kennels for over 500 days
Moose the shelter dog. The mixed-breed has been in kennels for more than 500 days and still hasn't found his forever home. mayflower.sanctuary

The sanctuary told Newsweek that Moose is originally from a kill shelter in Romania, and while he was initially adopted, the owner's arrangements didn't work out for him, so he found himself back in the kennel.

"He did go to a second home. However this also did not work out. This time it was due to the adopter not listening to instructions about how to handle him around other dogs. Unfortunately, we do think he has been mistreated by a male in the past, as sometimes he can be wary of them but with time and patience he is fine."

The sanctuary said that even though the post is getting views, Moose still hasn't had any applications for adoption. While a few people phoned them up to book meet-and-greets with him, none of them showed up to their appointments.

"His ideal family would be an adult-only household with one or two people. He is looking for his adopters to be active, as he does like to have decent walks daily and play and run around in secure places.

"He cannot live with another pet in the household, as he can be reactive. The family do preferably need to have experience with reactive dogs or don't mind a dog that needs to go for walks in quiet places. He does not react to every dog and will actually walk with some other dogs in our sanctuary without any issues."

Like most dogs, Moose loves being "fussed," and will usually ask for more scratches and love if you stop.

"He loves to have zoomies, he will run around so fast when he is excited! He walks really lovely on the lead and loves to sniff about. He is very fond of treats and is excellent at learning new things—he knows sit, down, wait and paw commands.

"He has so much potential and is just waiting for his next, and hopefully last, chance. He is small to medium in size, around 13 kilograms (28.6 pounds). The hole he has in his ear is due to having a tag put in back in Romania. He has no health issues at present, he is fully vaccinated, neutered and microchipped."

The video has so far received more than 15,500 views and 1,400 likes on TikTok.

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.

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About the writer


Maria Azzurra Volpe is a Newsweek Lifestyle Reporter based in London. Her focus is reporting on lifestyle and trends-related stories, ... Read more

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