Puppy Found Abandoned Outside a Home With Pizza Slices and a Note, Finds Forever Home

Puppy Found Abandoned Outside a Home With Pizza Slices and a Note, Finds Forever Home
(Illustration - Shutterstock)
Epoch Inspired Staff
1/15/2018
Updated:
1/27/2020

When this man looked outside his home, the last thing he expected to see was a dog tied to the steps. He quickly went outside to check on the animal and found a note tucked under his doormat, and what the note said surprised him.

Justin Hanley lives in the East Falls neighborhood of Philadelphia. He wanted some fresh air in his home, so he opened the blinds in his living room only to see a black pitbull puppy abandoned on his doorsteps one day in October 2017.

He stepped outside to find the young puppy’s leash tied onto the rails and a plastic bag filled with three slices of half-eaten pizza left beside the animal, most likely for the puppy to eat.

As he scanned around, he saw a note left under his doormat. The note read:

“Please take me home.

I’m a girl named Diamond.

We can no longer keep her in our home.

Thank you.”

“Clearly, if somebody is feeding a dog pizza they weren’t equipped to handle a dog in the first place,” Hanley told Philly.com.

Hanley and his wife brought the scared puppy inside and gave her some food and water.

The Hanleys at that time already had their hands full raising two young children and Beefy, their Jack Russell mix, so it was not possible to adopt another pet.

Diamond needed a home and Hanley knew where to turn to. He went online to seek advice and help from a Facebook community group and wrote, “Need advice/help. Somebody tied up their dog and abandoned her on my front step, with a note (attached) and a bag of pizza. Who handles abandoned/lost dogs? spca?? This is heartbreaking stuff,” as per the Inquirer. It didn’t take long for community members to respond with suggestions and offers of help, and many also expressed their shock.
Within three hours, volunteers from Don’t Bully Us, an animal rescue group, went to Hanley’s home to pick up Diamond and took her to a foster home as per The Dodo.

Hanley was quick to share an update with the community so members wouldn’t be concerned anymore. He wrote: “UPDATE: glad to report Diamond has found a home. Thanks for all the advice/messages. Faith in humanity restored.”

The foster home Diamond went to was an amazing family of nine dogs, seven pygmy goats, and some horses. Diamond was renamed Serenity by his foster dad, Chris King, a retired Army special officer, because he wanted to match all his other dogs who were named after Greek and Roman gods, such as Jupiter, Chaos, and Hades.