‘Crying’ Dog At NJ Shelter Is Breaking Hearts; Adopter Needed (VIDEO)

NEW JERSEY — Carlos has been in the animal shelter system for nearly two years. And to put it bluntly – the desperate doggo needs out now, his keepers say.

On Thursday, the Associated Humane Popcorn Park Shelter in Forked River issued an update about “Crying Carlos,” a pooch that went viral on the internet after his heartrending calls of sadness were shared in a video in May (watch it here).

“Our big buddy has been waiting for 20 months now for a home of his own and sometimes, it really gets to him,” staff said about the 8-year-old American Staffordshire Terrier mix, a stray dog who got his first taste of shelter life in 2021 at the AHS-Newark branch.

“He knows his cry gets to us and gets us to come over and take him for a walk or his favorite game of fetch, but he sure deserves more than that,” the Forked River shelter wrote in their May social media post, which has seen 120,000 views and 1,600 comments.

Learn more about Carlos on his PetFinder.com listing here.

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The shelter noted that the “large and in charge” pooch isn’t the easiest dog to rehome:

“He's about 8-years-old and Carlos needs to be an only pet. We get it – age combined with no other pets … it's a little tough. But he's such a great guy. He's housebroken, he never met anyone he didn't like, he is super spunky for his age and will run after every tennis ball you throw for him, and he's an all-around great guy.”

This week’s update had some good news: there has been plenty of interest in “Crying Carlos” since the video went online.

The bad news? Most of it has been from people who live too far away.

“Thank you all so very much for the outpouring of support and compassion that you've shown for our favorite big boy, Carlos,” the shelter wrote. “We are well-aware that the video that we posted about a month ago of him crying in his run broke many hearts. He breaks our hearts on a daily basis as well.”

“We've had some offers to adopt Carlos since his video was posted but unfortunately, some have been from the other side of the country, and some from outside of this country,” staff continued. “While Carlos may not be up for making those kinds of trips, he is definitely up for a home in the Tri-State Area within driving distance.”

The shelter also gave an update on some upcoming surgery that the tough-luck pooch will have to surmount before he can be adopted:

“The main reason that Carlos is still with us is that he has a torn ACL, which requires surgical repair. He has been scheduled twice for this surgery and unfortunately, due to a skin infection, has been unable to have it yet. His skin infection is being treated with antibiotics and once it clears, he'll be good to have that knee fixed.”

In the meanwhile, the shelter is also open to finding a temporary foster home for Carlos, until a permanent adopter can be found.

“If you foster Carlos, we pay for all of his meds and his surgery,” the shelter said. “You just provide him the calm, loving home that he's been crying and begging for – for so long now.”

Learn more about adopting animals at the AHS’ three locations in New Jersey here. Learn more about fostering animals here.

Carlos’ journey through the New Jersey animal shelter system can be seen in a series of social media posts from the AHS. See them below.

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