Zuzu jumped her fence and was picked up as a stray in a neighbor's yard
Brought to the Downey animal shelter in California, she was in the yard when a family came by
She 'lit up like a Christmas tree' and began furiously wagging her tail
Shelter staff asked the family if they had come to claim their dog
They said no, they decided they wanted a new dog
The heartbreaking moment an abandoned German Shepherd at a shelter sees her owners and wags her tail in excitement... only for them to ask for a different dog
A German shepherd mix found as a stray and brought to a California shelter was excited to see that her family had arrived - until she realized they weren't there for her, but to get a new dog.
Shelter staff at Downey Animal Care Center in Downey picked up Zuzu from a local's yard after she jumped her fence and thought she was a stray.
However, when staff was showing a family the dogs, they were surprised to see two-year-old Zuzu suddenly wagging her tail with excitement and rushing over to the family, who began to pet her and talk to her through the fence.
'With her fast wagging tail seeing her owners Zuzu lit up like a Christmas Tree. She looked like the happiest dog. Yeah, she's going home,' wrote shelter worker Desi Lara on [a social network], who also took video of the heartrending scene. 'But no. Talking to her owners they told me they were not here to reclaim her, they were getting another dog.'
Lara said that the family told them that sensitive Zuzu has been depressed and crying since her father passed away, and she just wasn't the same dog, so they didn't want her anymore.
'Their solutions for her unhappiness was just leaving her here! And go get another dog,' she wrote.
It's unclear if the family did indeed take home another dog, or why they were allowed to if they did, but social media was outraged over the dog's abandonment.
'I sure hope like everyone else is saying that this shelter didn't adopt out another dog to them as**hole owners, because if they did they are totally irresponsible a**holes too!!! I can't even watch this video because I will be even more livid and upset.....B*******!!!' wrote one commenter.
The shelter has since updated its posts to say that Zuzu will be taken in by a caring rescue group who will find her a home.
Many people on [a social network] have left messages saying they want to adopt her - even offering to drive in from other states.
The shelter named her Zuzu after the little girl in 'It's a Wonderful Life' because as Lara wrote, 'we are going to post, tag and share her and give her a new life. A wonderful life!'
Zuzu the 2-year-old German shepherd was abandoned at the Downey Animal Care Center in California, after her dad had passed away and her owners found her too sad to deal with.