Dog escapes to safety after owner’s death. Now, she needs ‘love and attention’
A “brave” dog escaped to safety after her owner’s death — and now, she waits for a new home.
“After spending some time on my own, I’m hoping to find a special person who will cherish me and give me the love and attention I’ve been dreaming about,” a North Carolina animal shelter said in an online adoption profile written from the perspective of Reba the dog. “I may be a little older, but I’ve got plenty of spirit and love to give!”
As of Oct. 10, Reba is up for adoption at the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) of Wake County. She landed at the Raleigh-area shelter after experiencing a rough patch.
“When Reba’s owner passed away, Reba was suddenly left alone with nothing but silence,” the shelter wrote in a Facebook post. “For 9 months, she lived in the backyard of what used to be her home, only occasionally being brought basic necessities.”
But for unknown reasons, family members of Reba’s late owner stopped coming to the yard to give her food and water. That’s when the roughly 7-year-old dog’s “ability to escape literally saved her life.”
“She broke free, marched herself up the porch of a kind human, and asked for help,” the shelter wrote.
After a neighbor realized what was going on, Reba went to a shelter and was transferred to the SPCA. She was hungry and dehydrated, with hair loss and tartar on her teeth, SPCA spokesperson Mady Thielemann told McClatchy News in a phone interview.
“Life hasn’t been easy lately, but Reba’s gentle spirit is still shining,” the shelter wrote. “She’s still hopeful for love. And we are more than happy to provide her with some much-needed TLC.”
Reba is described as a “sweet,” cuddly dog who’s believed to get along well with other pups. The shelter discovered she has a blood glucose level that could point to her having a pancreatic tumor.
Now, Thielemann said Reba will need a “magical unicorn adopter” to give her a fresh start. Details about the shelter’s adoption process can be found at spcawake.org.
This story was originally published October 10, 2025 at 12:53 PM with the headline "Dog escapes to safety after owner’s death. Now, she needs ‘love and attention’."
