Suspected scared opossum in dog park turns out to be dumped crying poodle who lucks out and gets loving home with the fur family who found her

Laurent Shinar • Writer and Editor

Oct 14, 2026 8:15 AM EDT

For those of you pawrents who are no stranger to the early morning potty walk you will be very familiar with the wide range of random critters you and your pup cross paths with. The darkness is of course a favored time for many nocturnal animals who use the cover of night to go about their business without getting eaten. Which is what this pupper pawrent initially thought when she heard and saw a shape that resembled an opossum scurrying around the dog park she usually took her pup to. Only it was not an opossum this time, it was a pawdorable poodle crying its eyes out that it had been dumped there. Having no other option other than to take the sweet pup home this pawrent decided she would do the best she could for this pup and provide the warmth, security and safety that animal services simply couldn't, even if they did actually operate at such early hours.

Now you might be wondering why this story is noteworthy, after all, dumped doggos are a dime a dozen (a horrifying fact in itself, but one that we shall gloss over sadly). It is because of how this hooman handled the rescue of this pup. I can speak from pawsonal experience as someone who has fostered, cared for and rescued doggos myself that when a pup is found and timidly handed over to a rescue or animal control, things tend to get worse for the pup rather than better. In most cases the place they will be taken to will be filled with tons of terrified doggos who are quick to snap and fill the air with the scent of fear. Essentially a dog's version of a super scary house, and that traumatizes the dogs such that they are permanently scared.

I had one such doggo who I had a hand in rescuing, they had walked for miles along the country roads of the United Kingdom searching for any hooman who could help them. You could see how open they were to receive even the most lacklustre of care, just to know that they might have a chance of feeling safe and secure once more. But let me tell you, the doggo that I dropped off at the rescue was not the same one who came out when I went to take it for a walk a few days later. The dog I picked up was pawmanently scared, tail tucked between its legs, head down and barely interested in communicating with me, the very person who had saved them from the streets. So the moral of the story is, if you can keep a found pup in your home, do it, you will be giving them a world to live in, a safe place to start from and the sense of security that no shelter can. Now go forth and learn from this pupper pawrent how it is done, we are proud to share this tale of foster fail with you as a shining example of what a rescue done right looks like.

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These situations are sadly so much more common than you might think. And as our poster says, the reason that they are less well known is because they happen under what might be deemed unsociable hours. But that does not make their existence and less real and the terror that these doggos feel any less debilitating. If anything these kinds of ‘hidden’ dumpings are of the worst kind, as the poor pupper is left alone, in the dark, to fend for themselves against all manner of foxes, coyotes and critters that they have absolutely no experience handling.
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Now, we have said this before and we will say this again, if you find yourself in a position to rescue an animal and are not in need of support boarding them or giving them medical care then the best thing you can do for them is what this poster has done for this sweet poodle. Provide a safe, secure and stable home for them to live in until they are either reunited with their pawrents or handed over to a foster (that is if you do not foster fail yourself). In doing so you are sparing them so much stress, pain and anxiety. Putting them in a rescue or animal control is a last resort, those places are filled with fear and filth and can be incredibly detrimental to a doggo who is already scared out of their mind.
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Suspected scared opossum in dog park turns out to be dumped crying poodle who lucks out and gets loving home with the fur family who found her

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