A woman in Texas is running out of time to find new homes for her two rescue dogs.
Laura Hellinghausen told Newsweek she is facing an “absolutely heartbreaking” dilemma after losing her job and realizing she would have to move back home with her parents, where her dogs Delilah and Uomo are not welcome.
“The dogs can’t go with me to my parents’ house because my father refuses to allow dogs there. He won’t budge on this, I have tried for years,” Hellinghausen said.
Hellinghausen never had a dog growing up so, after graduating from the University of Houston with a bachelor’s degree in accounting back in 2016, she adopted Delilah, who was just four months old, from the Barc Animal Shelter in Houston. “The two of us lived in an apartment not far from school and went on many adventures and attended dog parks often,” she said.
It was during one Saturday morning trip out to PetsMart with Delilah that Hellinghausen came face to face with the dog she would come to know as Uomo (pronounced woe-moe) which is Italian for man.
“A dog rescue was at the store with dogs in crates. I noticed there was one dog who wasn’t barking—he was just laying down and looked devastated,” Hellinghausen said. “They told me that he was fine, he had just been with them the longest and nobody ever wanted him because of his breed.”
Hellinghausen soon realized Uomo the pit bull had been rescued from an abusive environment. “He still gets upset when he hears anything that sounds like a gunshot or if anyone around him yells,” she said. “He will run away from them and hide in his crate.”
Life hasn’t always been easy for Hellinghausen. She’s battled with depression and anxiety for most of her life, while in the last few years she went through a messy breakup. Delilah and Uomo have “always been there” for her though.
“These dogs have truly saved me on many occasions,” she said. “There was even a time I was actually attacked by another pit bull that escaped the neighbor’s backyard and Delilah literally saved my life.”
Her troubles have not just been confined to her personal life either. “I was working in public tax accounting but started to realize within two years that I was not in the right career field,” she said. “I was able to do the work but after a while I would become miserable and it showed in my work and overall life.”
Moving from firm to firm with little in the way of job satisfaction, Hellinghausen said she largely continued working in this particular field over the past two years because it was the only way she could afford rent on a home for her and the dogs.
When she eventually lost her job, Hellinghausen realized she needed to change things up. That’s why she is moving home, without the dogs. In an ideal world that would only be temporary.
“My plan now is to move out of the house I am renting and into my parents’ while I find a job in an industry accounting role, save up some money, and then move back out and bring the dogs,” she said.
Finding someone to take her two dogs on has proven difficult though, Hellinghausen thought she had found a woman willing to take them, but she kept canceling the planned date for dropping them off at the very last minute.
“The last time she did, her story contradicted her previous story as to why she had to delay taking the dogs,” Hellinghausen said. “I was already having a strange feeling, but when I caught her in the lie she got defensive and we cut communication.”
Hellinghausen said a combination of their breed and the fact so many shelters are “full if not over capacity” has left her facing dwindling options. Sadly, her situation is an all too common one as shelters across the U.S. struggle to deal with an influx of animals.
Figures compiled by the Shelter Animals Count, the national database for animal rescues, shelters and humane societies, show that last year 177,000 additional dogs and cats were in the U.S. shelter system compared with 2022.
Hellinghausen’s biggest fear is that she surrenders Delilah and Uomo to a shelter and they are euthanized immediately.
“It is absolutely heartbreaking,” she said. “I would rather not give up my dogs at all and have seriously considered getting a tent or living out of my car while I find a job where I am able to support myself and the dogs while doing work that I can feel secure in and avoid this happening again in the future.”
For now, Hellinghausen is left hoping against all hope that someone comes through who is willing to take her dogs while she gets her life back together.
“They are really adaptable dogs. Both are really good with kids and other dogs and cats,” she said. “The best type environment for them would be one where someone will take them on walks, cuddle them, and simply be there.”
If there is anyone out there who might be able to provide that, she would love to hear from you.
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