Bringing a dog into your life is more than a choice, it is a lifelong promise. It means giving love, safety, and care through every stage, from the playful days of youth to the slower years of old age.
Sadly, not everyone keeps that promise. Too many senior dogs are left behind once they begin to need extra attention.
Molly, a twelve-year-old pup, once had a family she trusted with all her heart. She believed she would spend her later years surrounded by them, but her world shifted in a painful way.
She found herself wandering the streets alone, slowly realizing that no one was coming back to claim her.
Would someone step forward to change the course of her story?
A Painful Discovery
When a kind passerby saw Molly darting along a busy road, they quickly pulled over to help. The Good Samaritan scooped her up and brought her to Long Beach Animal Care Services, hoping she’d soon be reunited with her people.
At first, things looked promising. Shelter staff found a microchip and immediately contacted her registered owners, certain they’d be overjoyed to know their lost dog had been found.
But things didn’t go the way anyone expected.
The former owners explained that they hadn’t had Molly for eight years, having given her to a friend they no longer spoke with. Still, they sounded genuinely pleased to hear she was alive and even said they would come for her the next morning.
Molly waited at the shelter day after day, her eyes searching every face that passed. Two weeks went by, yet no one came. Despite multiple calls and emails from the shelter, there was no response.
That’s when Gina Castillo, Rescue Director of The Forgotten Dog Foundation in Santa Monica, stepped in after learning about the elderly dog whose family had abandoned her again. She decided to take Molly under her care.
Castillo suspected from the start that the previous owners had no intention of reclaiming her. To confirm, she checked online databases where people post about lost pets—but no one had ever listed Molly.
A Safe Place To Heal
Once Molly arrived at the sanctuary, her rescuer realized just how unwell she was. Years of neglect had taken a toll.
“We got her to our vet and found that she had a list of medical issues, including being sight impaired, a nasty ear infection, luxating patella on her back leg, rotten teeth and an oral fistula that needed repairing, and she has stage two kidney disease,” Forgotten Dog Foundation wrote in an Instagram post.
The veterinary team removed eleven decayed teeth and repaired the painful oral fistula, a hole that had formed in her nasal cavity due to infection.
Her treatment costs reached nearly $4,000. Because of her kidney disease, Molly now follows a special renal diet that costs around $100 each month.
Thanks to her rescuers, she’s finally comfortable and thriving again.
Molly won’t be listed for adoption. Instead, she’ll live permanently at the sanctuary with Castillo, who oversees the foundation’s dogs.
Castillo adores her spirited companion. Despite her age, Molly still has plenty of personality and charm. She quickly made herself at home and became part of the family.
She enjoys car rides, behaves beautifully, and rarely leaves Castillo’s side.
After years of uncertainty and neglect, Molly finally knows what it means to be cherished. She’ll never be left behind again.