Tea Rose, a 16-year-old pooch, was recently abandoned by her lifelong owner who claimed to have become allergic to her.
After the owner surrendered the gray and white Maltipoo to New York Animal Care Center, she was rescued by Posh Pets Rescue (@PoshPetsRescue)—which posted a video on Facebook showing its director, Melissa McClellan, cradling the pup.
In the video, which has received 16,000 views, Linda Vetrano, the founder of Posh Pets, can be heard saying: “Owner’s had her all her life and surrendered her, saying she’s allergic. What can I say about people? Anyway, she’s safe with us now, [but] she’s a little confused.”
Vetrano told Newsweek: “I saw her at 16 and thought, this is just awful. We will take her, and I don’t know if we will get her adopted.”
Screenshots of a Facebook video showing Tea Rose being rescued. The Maltipoo was confused when Posh Pets Rescue saved her.
Posh Pets Rescue/Posh Pets Rescue
Describing Tea Rose’s reaction to the situation, Vetrano, who lives in Long Island, said: “She was very stunned. We picked her up and put her in the back seat with lots of blankets. She wasn’t quite sure of what was happening.”
Vetrano and Posh Pets Rescue help save animals all over New York with the support of volunteers. They face a daily uphill battle as shelters across the city are over capacity.
NYACC got in touch with Posh Pets since they had no room for the elderly pooch, who is slightly blind in one eye and being treated for kennel cough.
Older dogs do not fare well in shelters and often do not make it, Vetrano said. However, the rescue has since found Tea Rose a foster home in Long Island with a woman named Moira, who is nursing her with antibiotics for her cough.
Kennel cough is common in shelter dogs, but the infection can be much more severe in older dogs, Vetrano said.
The virus usually takes three to 14 days to develop and can persist for up to three weeks, according to the People’s Dispensary for Sick Animals.
Symptoms include a hacking cough, reduced appetite, low energy and a high temperature.
“She is very quiet, very sweet and very loving. You can pick her up. She is quite spry. She does go out for a little walk, and she is great with other dogs,” Vetrano said.
Facebook users were overcome with gratitude for Vetrano’s team. Others were outraged that the old girl had been surrendered.
“You guys are the best,” one user wrote. “Beautiful save,” another said.
“I am wondering how anyone can give up a dog after 16 years,” a commenter wrote, adding, “Just unbelievable, and I hope she finds her final forever home that she deserves.”
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