It’s a truly distressing experience to witness an animal that has been let down and harmed by the very individuals it trusts the most. Regrettably, instances of animal mistreatment and abuse occur daily worldwide, with countless creatures left at shelters, waiting for someone to offer them the second opportunity they deserve in life.
One such facility is the Charlotte Mecklenburg Animal Care & Control (CMACC) in North Carolina, where Sarah Sleime volunteers regularly. She’s familiar with seeing disheartened, shattered animals waiting for their forever home. Nonetheless, even Sarah was deeply affected when she encountered Cinnamon, a Pit Bull who appeared to have tears in her eyes every time Sarah passed by. The information she would subsequently uncover about Cinnamon’s past, though, would be the final straw for her.
“They [the shelter workers] were checking a couple of the dogs we were considering pulling, and I was walking up and down the kennels, and I just saw this pit bull sitting there,” Sarah told THE DODO. “She was very humanlike — slumped over and very solemn.”
It was later discovered that Cinnamon, who appeared to be around seven years old, had likely been utilized by her previous owners as a breeding dog. In a Facebook post, Sarah recounted, “Someone left this poor mother at the shelter without her puppies. Whenever I spoke to her and expressed my regret, her eyes would fill up with tears. Heart-wrenching!!”
Feeling compelled to act, Sarah created a video highlighting Cinnamon’s situation in the hopes of increasing awareness. The video went viral soon after its release, with many individuals expressing interest in adopting Cinnamon and offering their support. Sarah was especially delighted when a friend of hers announced that she wished to provide the dog with a forever home.
Soon after, a woman named Jennifer McKay arrived to meet Blue. “He appeared extremely unhappy and dejected,” McKay recounted to The Dodo. “He didn’t even acknowledge my presence. While all the other dogs made eye contact and wagged their tails, he refused to stand up or come over to me.
“When I saw her in that video, literally crying in a cage, I cried. My kids cried. I showed my husband, and he said we could go look at her tomorrow.”
Megan and Cinnamon hit it off immediately, with pittie’s tail wagging non-stop when they first met. Sarah captured the joyful moment on video and shared it on her Facebook page. Cinnamon’s previously tearful demeanor was replaced with unbridled enthusiasm.
The Shelton family already had a three-year-old Pit Bull named Blu, so the only remaining obstacle was determining whether the two dogs could accept each other and coexist. As luck would have it, Blu and Cinnamon, now renamed Rosie by the Sheltons, quickly became fast friends. Rosie found a loving family, and the Sheltons were fortunate to have gained a special companion.