Poor Pup Is Looking For A New Home After Her Owner Died

There is a five-year-old Chihuahua named Chloe who is in need of a new home. Her owner recently passed away from the novel coronavirus and the “shy and friendly” dog was surrendered to the shelter. On April 17, Chloe arrived at the MSPCA-Angell Boston adoption center.

Chloe seems to have had a 2016 surgery. The staff at the shelter found a metal plate attached to her right front leg bone. The plate should have been removed after the leg healed and they are concerned about the issues associated with it being left on. They are saying that she may have to have her leg amputated.

“We’ve scheduled an x-ray for later today and based on the result of that we’ll know if we can safely remove the plate,” Anna Rafferty-Arnold, associate director of the MSPCA’s Boston adoption center, said in the release.

Chloe will have to have the leg amputated if it can’t be removed and the bills can be paid for out of the MSPCA’s Spike Fund. The fund has been set up to help homeless animals in the area by covering medical expenses.

The number of pets surrendered to MSPCA’s centers is fairly low. According to Mike Keiley, director of adoption centers and programs, they are getting ready for more animals to come in as the coronavirus spreads.

“We are bracing for a wave of COVID-19 surrenders in the coming weeks as both the disease — and the economic fallout associated with it — bite deeper in Massachusetts,” he said in the release.

If anyone is interested in adopting Chloe, they can contact the center directly at 617-522-5055.

The call is going out for people to go to animal shelters across the country and foster or adopt dogs while the pandemic is ongoing. It can help with social distancing loneliness and it also helps shelters, who may have a lag in adoptions.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, the World Health Organization, and the American Veterinary Medical Association, no evidence exists that COVID-19 can spread from pets to humans.

“If you don’t have a pet and are thinking about getting one, now is the perfect time to ‘try it on’ by fostering from your local shelter. Shelters and pet adoption facilities nationwide need people to foster pets on a temporary basis,” Julie Castle the CEO of Best Friends Animal Society, told PEOPLE.