A sweet dog Millie found herself in the most bewildering situation of her life. One moment, she was with her owner, a woman she thought would love her forever. The next, she was about to be abandoned at the shelter.
This moment was captured on video and shared by TikToker Makaira Lebo (@kai_thedogmother), leaving thousands of hearts broken as they watched Millie’s pain.
The video shows Millie standing in the parking lot of the Tacoma Humane Society in Washington and the heartbreaking overlay reads:
“This is what your dog looks like when you take it to the shelter because you failed your dog. Scared, shaking, confused and worried. Not a clue of what they did wrong.”
Makaira, a dedicated advocate for the homeless, had visited the shelter that day to bring in another abandoned dog. By chance, she witnessed Millie being surrendered by her owner firsthand.
Poor Millie was looking around nervously and her whole body was trembling. She tugged toward her owner’s car while the woman was trying to leave her behind.
Citing relationship issues, the woman told the shelter worker that Millie and her new boyfriend weren’t getting along.
With a heavy heart, Makaira watched as Millie was being handed over, and shared the devastating video with the world.
The video, viewed over 1.5 million times, hit hard pet lovers everywhere, who were unable to comprehend how someone could give up their dog so easily. Comments flooded in, expressing sadness and frustration, as one of them read:
“Like some people don’t deserve kids, some people don’t deserve dogs.”
Moved by the experience, Makaira reflected on the reality behind these emotional moments, sharing in an interview:
“This is happening daily, everywhere. While I was there, a senior dog with bad hips was being rolled in on a cart because the owner couldn’t afford surgery.”
The comments section reflected a range of emotions. While many were heartbroken for Millie, some understood the difficulty of such decisions.
The staff at the Tacoma Humane Society shared their thoughts too. They emphasized the need for support rather than criticism when owners have to make such hard decisions, as they explained:
“After watching this video, we hope people focus not on shaming the owner… Instead, we hope community members recognize the vital role the shelter plays as a resource during their greatest times of need.”
Millie’s story is one of many, showing how complicated and emotional pet surrenders can be. It shows that behind such decisions, there are often tough situations and heavy hearts involved. There’s always more to the story than we realize.