Boy leaves puppy at shelter to protect it from abusive father

A 12-year-old boy left his puppy outside a shelter with a stuffed animal and a touching note: He wanted to spare him the wrath of his abusive father.

The boy, who identfied himself as Andrés, left the pitbull puppy at a shelter in the Mexican state of Michoacan on February 13. A dog rescue group shared his story on its Facebook page.

“My name is Andrés and I am 12 years old. My mom and I decided to leave my dog in your hands, hiding it from my dad because he is thinking about selling him. But he mistreats and kicks him. One day he kicked him so hard that he hurt his tail. I hope you can help and take care of him,” he wrote in the letter.

“I left him a stuffed animal so he won’t forget me.”

As soon as the group shared the boy’s story, it received more than 300 requests to adopt Rene. The requests came from all over the country.

The group was quick to remind people it has 120 other dogs that need a welcoming family too.

“If everyone opened their heart and their home like this little dog, they would have adopted all our dogs from the shelter,” the rescuers said in a Facebook post.

As far as Rene, the group took the injured puppy to the doctors and dewormed him. He’s on his way to a healthy recovery.