Furry Tails: Searching For Her 'Wonderful Life'
"She wasn't a happy dog anymore."
The story of a 2-year-old German Shephard is going viral after her family chose to abandon her at a California animal shelter in favor of finding another dog.
Zuzu's story begins on a sad note, and doesn't get any happier. At least, not yet anyway.
It all started with the death of her father, another German Shephard. According to Buzzfeed, Zuzu's owners told animal welfare workers that she became dejected after his death. The two dogs lived in the same house.
Zuzu was mourning, just like any human would mourn the death of their own dad.
She eventually jumped over the fence in her owners' yard and some neighbors called animal control to pick her up. That's how she ended up at the Downey Animal Care Center in Los Angeles.
Buzzfeed reports that shelter workers describe Zuzu as an "amazing" and "beautiful and loving" dog. However, her owners apparently didn't see her the same way.
The shelter volunteers assumed she was a stray, only to have Zuzu's owners show up soon after. But they weren't looking for her.
One of the shelter workers wrote on Facebook: "With her fast wagging tail, seeing her owners, Zuzu lit up like a Christmas Tree. She looked like the happiest dog. Yeah, she's going home."
After Zuzu recognized them, the shelter worker asked the family if they had come to take their dog home. But their response was no, "they were getting another dog."
"Their reason was because she was crying and sad since her father passed away," the shelter worker wrote on Facebook.
So, there Zuzu was, abandoned by her family at the animal shelter. She's now searching for a happy ending; hopefully, to come this holiday season. The shelter worker wrote on Facebook that they renamed her Zuzu after the little girl in the Christmas classic, "It's a Wonderful Life."
The shelter worker wrote, "Because we are going to post, tag and share her and give her a New life. A wonderful life!"
An internet campaign has been launched to find Zuzu a forever home.
Meanwhile, the Downey Animal Care Center reports that Zuzu's former family did not end up adopting another dog after all.
But Zuzu is hopefully on her way to a happy ending. Our sister station, CBS Los Angeles, reports that the dog will soon be transferred to a rescue group and will then be put up for adoption.
Here's hoping she finds a loving forever family, one in which she can spend many Happy Holiday seasons to come.
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Stay tuned animal lovers for more Furry Tails! You can follow me on Twitter at @HeatherLang24
