A 12-year-old boy from Mexico left his pet puppy outside an animal shelter to protect it from his father who abused the dog.
The dog rescue group Refugio Xollin uploaded photos of the puppy left in a box with a note and a stuffed toy to Facebook on Feb. 13, CBS-affiliate WUSA reported last Sunday, Feb. 23.
The boy, only identified in the note as Andrés, explained that he and his mom decided to leave the puppy with the shelter to protect it from his dad. Andrés added that his father hurt the animal and was thinking of selling it.
“One day he kicked him so hard that he hurt his tail,” the boy said. “I hope you can help and take care of him.”
“I left him a stuffed animal so he won’t forget me,” he added.
The rescue group has since welcomed the puppy and named it Rene, the report stated. Following their post, they will be bringing the animal to a veterinarian to have its tail checked for a possible fracture.
In an update on Feb. 18, the group said that they have received over 300 requests to adopt little Rene.
They assured the public that the puppy would be handed over to the right family. According to the report, the group also noted that they still had 120 animals waiting for a new home.
“If everyone opened their heart and their home like this little dog,” the group said, “they would have adopted ALL our dogs from the shelter.” /ra