Published Apr 23, 2025 at 6:51 AM EDTUpdated Apr 23, 2025 at 6:52 AM EDT00:48
Dog Ends Up In Shelter After Family Gets Killed, Then Reunites With Sister
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Adog whose family was killed and who lost his paw in a hunting trap finally got his second chance in a rescue shelter—before a miracle happened.
The stray dog, named Grey, and his family lived in the fields near the Animal Terra shelter in Moldova, Eastern Europe. The dogs were regularly fed and cared for by the staff at the shelter, including Stanislav Foșnea.
Stanislav believes that unfortunately, Grey’s family were killed by the traps because it was thought they were stealing the corn from farm land. Fosnea told Newsweek that Grey was “the only survivor,” but he certainly wasn’t unharmed. When they spotted him, he was limping and had blood all over one of his legs.
No matter how much the shelter workers had previously tried to approach Grey, he was terrified of people and wouldn’t let them near him. Eventually, after waiting for the right moment, they were able to capture Grey after he sustained his injury.
“Unfortunately, he was terrified from the very beginning and in three years, no one from our team could even pet him,” Fosnea said. “But last year, Grey was caught in a hunting trap, and somehow managed to pull his paw out, severely damaging it.
“His paw was literally torn apart when he pulled it out the trap, and even the bones were exposed. The only way was an amputation,” he continued.
When Grey was checked over by a vet, it was discovered that not only did he require an amputation, but he was also suffering from severe sepsis. Following the swift intervention, the vet was able to save Grey’s life, and he spent time recovering in the hospital.
Sadly, given how scared Grey gets around people, nobody wanted to adopt the poor dog as he waited in the shelter. Fosnea said that it took rescuers two months to be able to approach Grey and pet him, highlighting just how challenging it will be for him to “trust people again.”
At first, Grey kept to himself and stayed in the corner of his shelter enclosure shared with other rescues—until something unexpected happened.
More than a year after his family was killed and he suffered his life-threatening injury, rescuers were stunned to see Grey’s sister suddenly show up at the shelter and climb into the enclosure to reunite with her brother.
“It’s such a wonderful and heartwarming story. We thought his sister was killed too, then one day, she appeared inside the shelter and was hiding under building materials. We still don’t understand how she survived and how she found the shelter, but I think she smelled her brother’s presence somehow, which is a miracle,” Fosnea told Newsweek.
The siblings are now inseparable and it’s been great to see how having his best friend around has helped Grey.
Now, Fosnea said that Grey “will never be alone,” and they’re searching for a loving home for both. It will be challenging to find someone to adopt Grey and his sister, but the shelter would love to keep the siblings together.
This remarkable story was shared in an Instagram Reel on March 23 (@anim.alterra) and it went viral with 2.3 million views and 139,000 likes at the time of writing. The online attention has led to some adoption interest for Grey already, more than he has had in over a year year.
With over 9,500 comments on Instagram, social media users have praised the shelter for saving both dogs and for being patient with Grey as he learns to trust again.
One comment reads: “What a terrible and beautiful story all at once. Beautiful because you saved this sweet boy, and his sister found him.”
Another Instagram user wrote: “I’m so glad they found each other.”
While another person added: “Tears of joy for their reunion.”
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