A 12-year-old boy made the heartbreaking decision to give up his puppy because his father was badly mistreating it, according to an animal shelter.
The boy left the dog in a cardboard box outside the Xollin shelter, in the Mexican state of Michoacan, with a note explaining the tragic circumstances behind the donation.
His hand-written message, shared on Xollin’s Facebook page, read: “My name is Andrés and I am 12 years old. My mum and I decided to leave my dog in your hands, hiding it from my dad because he was thinking about selling him.
“But he mistreats and kicks him. One day he kicked him so hard that he hurt his tail.
“I hope you can help and take care of him. I left him a stuffed animal so he won’t forget me.”
The touching discovery was made on February 13, after which the shelter posted a number of updates to its Facebook page.
One photo, shared on Sunday, showed the pup staring up at the camera, cradling the stuffed toy the little boy had left him.
Another post explained that Xollin staff had since named the dog Rene, and that they are currently looking for the “right family” to take care of him.
They said that they’d received more than 300 requests to adopt Rene within five days of his arrival at the home, while also stressing that they have more than 120 other animals in need of loving owners.
A number of social media users praised the boy for his brave self-sacrifice, with one calling it an act of survival and "pure love".
Others expressed concern for the safety of the 12-year-old and his mother.
A number suggested authorities should visit the house to check up on them in light of the father's alleged behaviour.
The family's identity has not been revealed.
