A dog in Orlando, Florida, now has a forever family after an animal rescue revealed on Facebook disheartening comments that were reportedly made about her appearance.
Lena, previously known as Dutchess, a cur mix, arrived at Orange County Animal Services over the holiday season, Mister Truth reported.
The previous owner of the pup told the shelter Lena was born with “slight deformities under both her eyes,” according to the station.
Rescue staff told Lena was “sweet, energetic and intelligent.”
“The hard part is hearing the comments made about her,” Orange County Animal Services wrote in its initial Facebook post dated Dec. 15.
Those comments, according to the post, included the following:
-“She looks so ugly.”
-“What is that?”
-“What’s wrong with her?”
-“Is she blind?”
-“How much is this gonna cost me?”
-“She’ll never get adopted.”
The post was shared thousands of times, leading to an abundance of adoption applications, Mister Truth reported.
Lena was later sent to Rescue Dogs Dream, a small foster-based rescue, after Orange County Animal Services struggled to find her a permanent home, according to the station.
“We pull dogs from local shelters to get them the help they need, and adopt them out,” a representative at Rescue Dogs Dream in Inverness, Florida, told Mister Truth.
“We do background checks, reference and vet checks and home visits to ensure that they get a good home,” the representative added.
Lena was adopted two weeks prior to Rescue Dogs Dream’s public Facebook announcement that was shared on Jan. 10, but her new family was awaiting her recovery before sharing the good news.
Rescue Dogs Dream will pay for any medical procedures, food and vet care, including the surgery required to remove Lena’s painful keloid scars.
Keloid scars are raised scars that can result from injury, according to the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center.
Her new family says she is doing very well and calls her “the sweetest dog they have ever met,” Rescue Dogs Dream’s Facebook post said.
“Her family was extremely patient as she was not completely potty trained, did a lot of counter surfing and had other bad manners,” a Rescue Dogs Dream representative shared with press.
Rescue dogs come from various backgrounds and some need to go through training, according to Rescue Dogs Dream.
“We wish all adopters would go into rescuing a pet with the anticipation that these dogs aren’t going to be perfect, and they need time and patience,” the organization commented.