Located in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Broward County Animal Shelter features some of the animals that are staying there on their social media channels in hopes of finding them forever homes. They recently shared a video introducing us to a Chow Chow named King Simba, and it’s breaking everybody’s hearts.
His family surrendered King Simba due to ‘family issues’, and he is not handling the new situation he’s in well at all. He’s so sad that he refuses even to get up and move or look at staff as they pass him by.
@browardcountypet ‼️OWNER SURRENDERED No one is coming to claim King Simba & he’s very sad ‼️ Poor King Simba was surrendered this week & not adjusting to shelter life. The sad truth is that it’s loud, scary, & not a place many dogs can handle. Shelter life is hard for most dogs, especially an owner surrender pet who have never experienced shelter life. I was passing treats out & he would not even look up. I was heartbroken by this. I had a Chow growing up & they are great pets. I don’t know all the details of this families situation but he was surrender for family reasons. Family said he was kid friendly & dog friendly with animals he knew. He’s 7 years old & around 35 lbs. Staff mentioned that he’s very shy & needs a patient person to give him TLC Please open your heart & heart to King Simba. Email – foster@Broward.org Ask for #A2414572
This broke our hearts! In another video posted a couple of days later, Broward County explains that Simba is an older dog (they estimate about 10 years old) with arthritis. The Shelter shared that he is “not adjusting to shelter life.”
The post went on to say, “The sad truth is that it’s loud, scary, and not a place many dogs can handle. Shelter life is hard for most dogs, especially an owner-surrendered pet who has never experienced shelter life. I was passing treats out and he would not even look up.
I was heartbroken by this. I had a Chow growing up and they are great pets.”
Related: Precious Dog Who’s Been in and Out of Shelter 5 Times Will Break Anyone’s Heart
Commenter Reactions to the Depressed Chow Chow
Commenters were heartbroken after witnessing King Simba’s sadness and reaction to being in the shelter. You could hear how noisy and chaotic it is in the background, and Simba is probably so confused about how he ended up there.
@Madison Alexis shared, “Awww, I wish people would understand not to do this. They are a member of your family.” @Rebecca added, “He’s heartbroken and confused – don’t worry Simba you did nothing wrong.” @Drea agreed, “WHO DOES THIS TO THEIR FUR CHILD?! Sweet Simba, I pray you go into a FOREVER home where you will be loved endlessly!”
Commenter @StevenK said, “Poor baby is so depressed, scared, and clueless about life with a broken heart. Prayers this pup is blessed with a forever loving home.” Others viewers left comments just to ‘boost’ the TikTok, hoping to get more eyes on it.
Then on June 20th, the Shelter shared the news we were all hoping for, “KING SIMBA LEFT PACKED SHELTER TODAY! Can you believe we did it?! My heart is so happy that he’s going to sleep on a soft bed tonight. Thank you for all your shares! Social media works!” Simba’s staying with a foster family for now, and if you’re interested in adopting him, you can visit their website or contact them at (954) 359-1313.