Cinnamon, a red-nosed Pitbull girl, was heartbroken when she was first dumped off at the Charlotte Mecklnburg Animal Care & Control shelter in North Carolna.
Someone had left her behind with none of her babies, and tears sprang to her eyes whenever anyone stopped to speak to her.
This sad Pitbull mama caught the eye of one volunteer, who decided to make a short video of her and share it on Facebook.
It was a whole different life just 48 hours later for Cinnamon.
Cry Of A Broken Heart
Usually, Sarah Jennings Sleime volunteers for the Greater Charlotte SPCA — but one Saturday, she knew she was going to run by animal control to see a couple of dogs for rescue.
She had no idea that one particular dog was about to break her heart.
“I walked the kennels and one caught my eye..she was siting up,kind of slumpedover, almost humanlike,” Sleime said in her Instagram post.
It was clear she had had puppies recently and was utterly heartbroken since her puppies weren’t there with her.
“[The shelter workers] think she was kept and used as a breeding machine. She’s clearly had a lot, a lot of babies,” Sleime told The Dodo.
She then bent down and began speaking to Cinnamon, but every time she did, tears filled Cinnamon’s eyes.
“It was the wildest phenomenon,” Sleime said.
No foster home meant no rescues of any of the big dogs, but Sleime knew she had to do somethng to help this poor dog.
“I took some video of her “crying” and I put it on Facebook. 48 hours later, THAT VIDEO has been watched 1 MILION times and shared by 20k people,” Sleim e wrote.
Within a day, Sleime received hundreds of messages about Cinnamon and her availability.
So many people wanted to adopt this gorgeous girl and provide her with a new life, one where there would be no tears.
Happily Ever After
Sleime’s friend, Meghan Connor Shelton, who lives in Charlotte, North Carolina, was also one of hundreds of people who clicked on Cinnamon’s video.
She told The Dodo:
“I have a soft spot for pitbulls. I feel like they’re a very misun derstood dog and a misunder stood breed. And when I saw her in that video, literally cryinng in a cage, I cried. My kids cried. I sh owed it to my husband and he said we could go see her tomorrow.”
The following morning, the Shelton family arrived first in line to meet Cinnamon.
The kids, as well as the whole family, immediately fell in love with her. “It was love at first sight. She just kind of pulled on our heartstrings,” Shelton said.
They completed the paperwork and brought Cinnamon — now Rosie — home once she was spayed.
The family already owned a dog at home – a 3-year-old male Pitbull, Blu.
At first, they weren’t confident the two would hit it off, especially since Rosie had been through so much in her life, but she surprised everyone.
“It was interesting because you never know how it’s going to go, but they sort of sat next to each other with tails a-wagging,” Shelton said.
The two now are best friends, and love each other’s company. It’s as if they’ve known one another their entire lives.
As Rosie adapted to her new home and life, her personality also emerged. According to her family, one of her quirkiest qualities is that “when she gets excited, she snorts like a pig”.
Rosie’s affirming video gave her a new home and also assisted most dogs in that shelter in having their forever home.
“Small acts have a big impact: Not only did this sweet dog, Cinnamon, get adopted the very next morning, but by adopting other families saved other dogs behind the shelter, rescuing some other strays and owner surrenders waiting in the back who would surely have been euthanized because the shelter is full,” Sleime said.
One viral video or one photo, which reaches the lives of millions of people, can change a life in seconds.
For a chance to save a dog’s life just like Rosie’s life was saved, go to the CMPD Animal Care and Controlpage, and visit the Greater Charlotte SPCA’s website to find out more about adoptable dogs.
