This message to an owner who abandoned their dog is heartbreaking

A dog is for life, not just for Christmas.

It’s a phrase bandied about so much it almost seems cliched to say it, but it’s true. Unfortunately, not everybody appreciates the fact.

A Californian rescue centre has shared a video with its followers of a dog that had been abandoned by its owner and waited for days for them to come back.

The video shows the dog at the side of the road, refusing to come over to the group attempting to help it, but a message posted with the video explains things further.

The dog had been left by its own for at least two days and survived by eating sticks. After hours of sitting there, attempting to win the dog’s trust, the group eventually succeeded as the dog finally allowed them to pet and feed it.

The message recalls how the dog howled the entire way to the shelter as he was upset about abandoning his post, in case the owner should return.

In a letter addressed to the owner, a rescue worker who identifies herself only as Brooke, says: ‘He isn’t a bad dog. He is a very good dog. You were a bad friend. You abandoned someone that would give his life for you. Someone who doesn’t care how long you stayed away at work… Someone who would lick the tears off your cheeks and the leftover food from your plate when u [sic] were done eating.

‘He refused to walk to the van… He howled the whole car ride to our shelter. He howled the most painful howl I have ever heard. It was the sound of his heart breaking. He desperately tried to get back to the spot that you left him.

‘You don’t deserve this amazing puppy. You don’t deserve any dog at all.’

We’d have to agree.