Hearts have broken when a German Shepherd facing euthanasia was adopted, only for her new owners to never show up to collect her.

Everyone was delighted when Flora, just 8 months old, was adopted. But after the shelter had arranged her spay appointment, the adoptive family never returned to collect her.

“Her potential adopters completed the paperwork, and she stayed for her spay surgery. However, when it was time for pickup, they never came, and the shelter hasn’t heard from them since. It’s disheartening to see people change their minds when a dog’s life hangs in the balance,” Amanda Downes, from California-based Advocate 4 Paws who network dogs at high-risk shelters told Newsweek.

Flora was found as a stray, and like many dogs in shelters across the U.S., was facing euthanasia.

According to Shelter Animals Count, around 748,000 animals experienced non-live outcomes, including euthanasia, in 2024. While this represents a 1.6 per cent decrease compared to 2023 and a 20 per cent drop from 2019, the number remains high.

Placed at Stanislaus Animal Services Agency, her future looked bleak. “Currently, dogs in the Stanislaus Shelter are given about a month before being placed on the euthanasia list. The shelter is severely over capacity, housing 330 dogs when it’s only meant for 180, with more coming in daily,” Downes explained.

In 2024, approximately 7 million animals entered U.S. shelters and rescues, according to Shelter Animals Count—an increase of nearly 3 percent from 2023. By the end of the year, 103,000 more pets had entered shelters than had exited, contributing to an ongoing capacity crisis in U.S. shelters.

“She is a typical happy-go-lucky puppy who is all tail wags and gets along well with other dogs,” Downes said. “She’s an affectionate 8-month-old German Shepherd mix who enjoys attention from shelter volunteers and she just loves people. She’s such a great puppy, I can’t believe her adopters didn’t come back for her.”

Thankfully, there has been a positive update in Flora’s story: a rescue has stepped to take over her care, and Downes hopes that she will soon have a home to call her own. “We want Flora to never see the inside of a shelter again and pray that her forever home is on the horizon, she deserves it,” she said.

Despite Flora’s happy ending, there are still many dogs in need, and Downes hopes that sharing their stories will help them find a rescue too, and encourage more people to adopt or foster. “We hope that her story, along with others we share, will highlight the shelter crisis and encourage more people to open their homes to foster dogs to help lighten the load,” she said.

Flora isn’t the only dog having a tough time being adopted. Earlier this month a dog called Dexter gained viral attention after his shelter revealed he has been returned by adopters five times. While Duke the terrier mix gained sympathy after he was returned just one day after being adopted.