No dog comes into the world broken. Who they become is shaped by their surroundings, the care they receive, and the love or lack of it that defines their daily life.
Sadly, not every owner understands this truth.
When patience runs thin and responsibility feels heavy, some people choose abandonment instead of compassion, leaving their pets facing consequences they never earned.
That was the reality for Godric and Sadie, two deeply bonded dogs whose family walked into a shelter and asked for their lives to be ended.
Godric’s Story
Hearts For Paws, a rescue group based in Davis, California, recently shared a story that stopped many people in their tracks.
A family arrived at Solano County Animal Care with their three-year-old Chocolate Labrador, Godric, and requested euthanasia. They told staff he had bitten their baby.
“They brought Godric the 3 yr chocolate lab in, and told the shelter he bit the baby who had crawled into his food bowl,” the rescue posted on Instagram.
Almost immediately, the request raised questions.
Godric’s demeanor told a very different story. From the moment he stepped into the shelter, he was gentle, calm, and openly affectionate with staff and strangers alike.
A post shared by Hearts For Paws (@heartsforpawsrescue)
While the shelter could not fully rule out the possibility of a bite, they were deeply troubled by the family’s decision.
They could not understand why no effort had been made to rehome him or formally surrender him. Instead, the request jumped straight to euthanasia.
The shelter refused and chose to give Godric a second chance.
What happened next uncovered even more about the family’s past choices.
When Familiar Faces Cross Paths Again
While out on a walk with shelter staff, Godric came face to face with another dog.
Their reactions were instant. Tails wagged, noses met, and recognition was clear.
The other dog was Sadie, a six-year-old Plott Hound. She had been surrendered by the same family just one month earlier, also with a request for euthanasia.
The reason given then was that she had growled at their baby.
For a brief moment, the two dogs were reunited, sharing a small window of joy together.
Not long after, Godric was adopted into a new home where he was met with warmth, care, and the love he had been denied.
Sadie was left behind.
Despite her sweet and gentle disposition, she became one of the shelter’s longest residents, passed over again and again by potential adopters.
“She is a great dog & there is no reason she can’t be adopted! More on her: Sadie is a 6-7 year Plott hound, spayed, good with dogs and people,” Hearts For Paws shared.
Eventually, Sadie was transferred to Miranda’s Rescue in Fortuna, California, where she remains today, still waiting for someone to choose her.
She has known abandonment and rejection, yet her hope remains intact.
Her story is still unfolding, and she continues to wait for a family who will see her not as a problem to discard, but as a loyal companion worthy of love.
