Puppy breaks everyone's heart: Baby dog sits alone and sad in animal shelter

Jurupa Valley (USA) - Barely born and already behind bars: a small puppy was separated from its mother far too early in the USA and ended up in an animal shelter. They are now doing everything they can to find the puppy a loving home as quickly as possible.

The little puppy was separated from his mother far too early and ended up in an animal shelter in California.
The little puppy was separated from his mother far too early and ended up in an animal shelter in California.  © Screenshot/Instagram/SavingRiversideShelterDogs

"Chowder" did not have an easy start in life. Just a few weeks after his birth, the Labrador was snatched away from his mother, on whom he was actually still dependent.

At least the puppy was not abandoned in the wild by his former owners, but taken to an animal shelter run by the Riverside County Department of Animal Services in Jurupa Valley, California.

Although they had already had many bad cases there, the staff were particularly concerned about the young age of the four-legged friend. Especially when they saw the puppy sitting alone in the huge-looking kennel among the other shelter dogs, the carers' hearts tightened.

The animal also had to be isolated as it was suffering from a parasitic infection called "Giardia", which occurs when a dog ingests water or food contaminated with feces.

Video: Lonely puppy in animal shelter breaks the hearts of users

Four-legged friend "Chowder" is now hoping for a loving home.
Four-legged friend "Chowder" is now hoping for a loving home.  © Bildmontage/Screenshot/Instagram/SavingRiversideShelterDogs

However, Chowder's placement was classified as "urgent". If a puppy is separated from its mother too early, this can have a negative impact on the rest of its life and affect its behavior. According to Newsweek, a report by the American Kennel Club states that puppies are only ready to cope without their mothers after eight to ten weeks.

In most states in the USA, there are even laws or regulations to prevent premature sale. Unfortunately, as in Chowder's case, not everyone abides by them.

The puppy, who is estimated to be around seven weeks old, therefore had to be adopted as quickly as possible. And what better way to do this than to draw attention to his situation via social media?

At least that's what one of his carers thought when he shared a video of the Labrador dog on Instagram. It only took a few days and the clip was viewed over a million times. Users are rightly upset about the fate of the tiny four-legged friend: "OMG!!! What is this world coming to???? Just a baby 😢", wrote one user on Instagram.

Fortunately, there could be a happy ending for Chowder - at least for a while. A foster family contacted the organization after the online post and agreed to take the puppy for a walk to get to know him better. "So he is safe and I have no doubt that they will adopt him!" says the animal rescue organization's employee happily.

However, if people were to decide against the Labrador after all, there would certainly be plenty of other people who would take Chowder in immediately.

At least in this case, the internet showed its beautiful side!