A regional shelter in Texas was over capability and needed to make the difficult choice to start putting down animals who would have a difficult time getting embraced. A painfully shy golden retriever called Darla was on that list.
When workers at the shelter attempted to take Darla to be put down, she was too terrified to walk — so they packed her into a wheelbarrow and started wheeling her down the corridor.
At that minute, members of Austin Pets Alive! (APA!) were walking through the shelter. They existed to help the overworked and overcrowded shelter by taking a few of the shelter’s animals into their care. They took one take a look at Darla trembling in the wheelbarrow and understood she was entrusting to them.
“We had to pull her, we had to save her,” Jordana Moerbe, APA!’s nationwide shelter assistance director, said in a news release. “We hope that she’s able to come out of her shell and be the happy puppy she deserves to be. It’s what every one of the pets in the shelter deserves, and that’s what we’re working so hard for.”
No one ever wishes to need to put down animals due to overcrowding, which’s why APA! usages their resources to action in and conserve lives that would otherwise be lost.
Once Darla was securely in the care of APA!, she received a complete medical examination to ensure she was doing OK. They recognized she was just 8 months old and still had her entire life ahead of her. They sent word about Darla to their rescue partners throughout the nation and discovered her a location with Mile High Lab Rescue in Denver, Colorado. Even though she was still so terrified, they understood that with time and love, anything was possible.
Darla is now protected in the care of her foster family and discovering how to be a dog. She almost lost her life that day, and rather she gets to live out the rest of her life understanding what real love is.
