Dog Waits On The Porch For Weeks After His Family Moved Away And Left Him Behind

For most of us, we would never dream of doing anything to harm our pet. In fact, when most of us get a pet, we know that they’re a commitment for life. And we take that responsibility very seriously because our pets are our family.

However, not everyone thinks this way, and unfortunately, this leads to horrible instances of animal cruelty. Of course, animal cruelty isn’t just restricted to physically harming an animal. It also encompasses anything that puts a pet in harm’s way, such as neglect and emotional abuse.

One of the cruelest forms of emotional abuse that someone can inflict on a pet is to leave them behind. Unfortunately, this happens quite often, and you hear many of the sad stories of owners who move and for whatever reason, they leave their pets behind. And sadly, for one loving pooch named Cupid, he was abandoned at his home by his “family,” who packed up their house and moved – without a second thought about Cupid. The poor dog was understandably confused and had no idea why he’d suddenly been left all alone. It was beyond heartbreaking, especially since the ever-loyal Cupid stayed nearby, waiting for his family to return for him.

Of course, they didn’t and the empty house just stood as a reminder for Cupid that he was alone and unloved – something that no animal should ever have to endure. Soon, people in his Harrisburg, Pennsylvania neighborhood started noticing that the lonely dog was wandering around, then going back to sit on the front porch, staunchly waiting for his family to come back. When they finally put two and two together and realized that the poor dog had been abandoned, they contacted the Speranza Animal Shelter for help.

The founder of the shelter, Janine Guido, was the one who responded to the call and went to get Cupid. She was understandably gutted to see Cupid was reduced to dumpster diving for his meals. She tried to approach him with some food, however, the skittish dog was anxious of new human contact and ran off to his safe space: the front porch of his old family’s house. To further add to the sadness of the scene, Cupid would begin to scratch at the door, trying to see if someone would open up for him. Janine was just devastated by Cupid’s dire situation, that she was determined to stop at nothing to get the dog’s trust and help get him into a better situation. Finally, she was able to gain his trust and managed to get him to come with her.

After the rescue, she went on Facebook in order to share Cupid’s sad story. She wrote on Speranza Animal Rescue’s page, “This is what your dog does. When you move out and leave him behind… I got a call this afternoon regarding your dog. That has been roaming around Harrisburg since you moved out. And more often than not he was seen lying on your porch. When I got there your dog was eating out of a dumpster. And when I tried to approach your dog he took off to his “safe place.”

Janine further added to her post a message to the owners who so callously left him behind. She expressed how she’d first attempted to gain his trust, but he ran away from her and ended up going back towards their home. Janine further added that it took her several attempts to gain his trust as he showed no other interests other than getting back inside his home – a place where he had felt the safest. She added in the part where he had scratched at the door, begging to be let in. If those owners were reading her post, I think we can all agree that we hope they felt a major pang of guilt at the mental torment they inflicted on poor Cupid.

Fortunately for Cupid, there was some hope after all. And Janine was happy to express after she had managed to get close enough to get a leash on him, she was able to load him up into her car and drive away with him. As she further explained in her post, she let him know that he was ok and that he had people in his corner who were willing to help him – despite the fact that he’d been so cruelly abandoned.

As she posted what she’d explained to Cupid on her ride home, “I hope you realize we are here to help. And you will never be left alone again. Welcome to the Family, Cupid.”

Thanks to Janine, it looks like Cupid has a much brighter future ahead of him. And, hopefully this post will be a reminder to pet owners everywhere the real trauma that can affect an abandoned pet. They’re not just a disposable form of entertainment – they’re a responsibility and a life-long commitment.