Michele Boggs works at an animal shelter and day in and day out she takes care of the dogs who come in. But, due to overcrowding, she says goodbye to many of them. She shared a powerful photo accompanied by a letter from the perspective of the dogs lying in the bags in front of her, writes thepetneeds

It’s an extremely sobering reminder of what is happening at shelters across North America because of thoughtless owners, who are not spaying and neutering their dogs, not taking the time to properly care and train them, or cruelly using them for profit or companionship only to abandon them when they no longer want them.

“Some other puppy will get the barely used leash you left. My collar was dirty and too small, but the lady took it off before she sent me to the Rainbow Bridge.

“Would I still be at home if I hadn’t chewed your shoe? I didn’t know what it was, but it was leather, and it was on the floor. I was just playing. You forgot to get puppy toys. Would I still be at home if I had been housebroken? Rubbing my nose in what I did only made me ashamed that I had to go at all.

“There are books and obedience teachers that would have taught you how to teach me to go to the door.

“Would I still be at home if I hadn’t brought fleas into the house? Without anti-flea medicine, I couldn’t get them off of me after you left me in the yard for days.

“Would I still be at home if I hadn’t barked? I was only saying, “I’m scared, I’m lonely, I’m here, I’m here! I want to be your best friend.”

“Would I still be at home if I had made you happy? Hitting me didn’t make me learn how. Would I still be at home if you had taken the time to care for me and to teach manners to me? You didn’t pay attention to me after the first week or so, but I spent all my time waiting for you to love me.

“I died today. Love, Your Puppy”

After Michele wrote and shared this, she added that the shelter workers she knows are affected by what happens. “Every one of us at the shelter who take care of these babies daily…cried for every one of those dogs…some of us gave them a final kiss…one of us shared their lunch with a dog they grew to love…but we all shed a tear for them…it isn’t their fault…yet they pay the consequences.”

She also cautioned, “If you don’t think this really happens…you aren’t living in reality…they die daily…thousands.”

“Please forward this to everyone, it’s time to stop animal abuse,” she pleads.

Share Michele’s powerful post with your family and friends.