‘Sweet' Shelter Pit Bull Loves Everyone

By Maria Azzurra Volpe

Life and Trends Reporter

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In a viral TikTok video, a shelter volunteer shared a dog's heartbreak at being overlooked by everyone despite her friendly nature, leaving internet users in tears.

The emotional clip, shared on Sunday by Jackie Gonzalez, a volunteer at the Valley Animal Center in Fresno, California, under the username @jjack.iie, shows the pup, a pit bull named Lulu, sitting down in her kennel, looking sad as if feeling unwanted and rejected.

The caption says, “40 seconds in the life of a shelter dog with no applications.”

“Lulu is a beautiful 2-year-old pit bull mix with a heart as sweet as her gentle eyes. She came to us as an owner surrender, and while her past may be uncertain, her future is looking bright.”

Gonzalez told Newsweek that Lulu is having a really tough time in the kennel, and has found it really hard adapting from a loving home to a shelter.

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“She’s a playful, high-energy girl who LOVES other animals, adores adventures, and would shine as a hiking or traveling buddy.

“With her sweet personality, goofy charm, and curious, loyal nature, she’d be an amazing addition to an active household. She deserves a family who can show her love, patience, and the freedom she misses so much. Let’s help Lulu find the home she’s dreaming of!”

Millions of homeless dogs enter shelters across the country every year, and many of them are labeled as pit bulls. Because of their reputation, often associated with aggression, these pups struggle to get a home the most.

Very often, dogs categorized as pit bulls aren’t even actual pit bulls, and are just penalized for looking a certain way.

A study from 2015, found that when staff try to identify a dog breed based on appearance alone, they often get it wrong, leading to mislabeling, which can result in unfair disadvantage for the pup.

In the study only about one in five dogs identified as pit bulls actually had pit bull-type ancestry when they ran DNA tests.

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The video has so far received over 3,088 views and 1,226 likes on the platform.

One user, Aimee Morein, commented: “So many pittie mixes in shelters…I really wish people understood what AMAZING dogs they are. So loving, goofy, loyal. They want nothing more than to be your best friend and by your side 24/7. There needs to be a huge push for educating people on the benefit of sharing your life with a pittie.”

MagicBlueBerry.com added: “The one thing I can't stand to see in these shelters is the cold hard floors, the isolation and the sadness.”

Do you have funny and adorable videos or pictures of your pet you want to share? Send them to [email protected] with some details about your best friend and they could appear in our Pet of the Week lineup.

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