Woman finds out abandoned dog was left behind by family who was deported

TUCSON, Ariz. (KPHO/Gray News) — Arizona residents say they are finding more pets being left behind without any care due to the owners being deported.

In one such case, a Tucson woman recently discovered a husky wandering alone in the desert.

Jaime Simpson says she spotted the dog without a collar, an owner or any water. She thought he might belong to someone nearby.

“We thought maybe he belonged to somebody, so we didn’t want to just take him or do anything,” Simpson said.

The dog didn’t run off. Instead, he latched onto Simpson and began following her.

“Then he just kind of started following me around. I was like, ‘What do I do now?’” she said.

The husky led Simpson to where he had been staying. When she asked neighbors about the dog, they said the family had warned them about a possible deportation.

Neighbors told Simpson the dog may have been on its own for weeks, wandering the desert and circling back to the home, waiting for a family that never came home.“

“It just makes me really sad that they had no closure, that goodbye, to keep their dog next to them during that hard time,” Simpson said.

It’s not an isolated case. Simpson said she has been hearing similar stories with increasing frequency.

“There are so many instances I’m seeing more and more often, and it’s really depressing,” she said.

Simpson officially adopted the dog and named him Eclipse. He now has food, water, a yard and a family of his own.

Still, Simpson said she hopes Eclipse could one day reunite with the people he never stopped looking for.

“I hope so. I’d be happy to do that,” she said.

Animal shelter and humane society officials said they do not typically track pets who have been surrendered unless owners specifically state deportation as a reason. Pets that come in are likely categorized under lost housing or abandonment.