Dog Waits For His Deceased Owner That Is Never Coming Back

When people pass away, no one mourns them harder than their pets. And a very sad photo depicting a 3-year-old Lab mix, Moose, standing by his deceased owner’s empty hospital bed, is the perfect example. It is no heartbreaking, it’s no wonder that when the picture was posted, it went viral, prompting adoption offers from across the nation.

Moose was adopted through Eleventh Hour Rescue, whose workers had initially found him tied to a railroad sign in front of an animal shelter in rural Georgia back in August 2017. When his owner tragically died of cancer a year after adopting Moose, the Lab was left devastated.

The organization posted a heartbreaking photo to Facebook before taking Moose back into their care.

In the post they wrote, “Moose sat patiently next to his dad’s hospital bed, waiting for him to return, not knowing that ‘Dad’ had passed away. Poor Moose has now been returned to Eleventh Hour Rescue and he’s taking the loss of his dad pretty hard.”

Thankfully, the Eleventh House Rescue was able to provide a happy update to the original post later that June, letting everyone know Moose had found a new forever home with a family in New Jersey.

“MOOSE HAS BEEN ADOPTED by a wonderful family who will care for and love him for the rest of his life!” The update revealed, along with a sweet photo.

While it was wonderful to hear Moose got a happy ending, the sad reality remains that many other dogs in his position don’t get so lucky.

As Linda Barish, a volunteer and a member of the executive committee at Eleventh Hour, told “Good Morning America, “So many dogs are euthanized that need a home every day that are perfectly wonderful dogs. What I hope is that it brings awareness to rescues and people will commit to adopting and not shopping.”

We’re happy for Moose, and hope that his story will continue to serve as an inspiration to others to adopt dogs in need!