When Ritter’s family unfortunately lost their home, they were no longer able to care for him or his dog sibling, Corky. Even though it broke their hearts, they had to surrender both dogs to the Humane Society for Hamilton County in Indiana — and as soon as his family left him behind, poor Ritter just couldn’t contain his sadness.

“As many dogs are, he was petrified, nervous and heartbroken,” Megan Bousley, marketing communications specialist for the Humane Society for Hamilton County, told The Dodo. “They don’t understand where their family went and are confused and frightened by the new, loud environment.”

As soon as he was alone in his kennel, all Ritter could do was sit pressed up against the wall, staring down at the ground, so upset and confused by his new reality.

Of course, everyone at the shelter did their best to make Ritter feel as loved as humanly possible — but it’s still not the same as having a forever home and a family.

“He’s gotten a lot of love and attention from staff,” Bousley said. “While he’s reserved and nervous in his kennel, he’s full of joy outside, just wanting to play and be loved.”

Everyone at the shelter could see how heartbroken Ritter was and couldn’t stand seeing him like that, and so they posted his photo on Facebook, hoping that someone would see him and open up their home to the sweet, sad pup.

The post was shared over 3,000 times — and in no time at all, a woman saw Ritter’s sweet face and knew she had to add him to her family.

Sophie Spenia had been wanting to adopt a dog for quite some time, but had been waiting until she had a house and more space because she knew she probably wanted a dog on the bigger side. As soon as she purchased her first home, she started checking the Humane Society for Hamilton County’s website and Facebook page every single morning, and when she saw Ritter’s heart-wrenching picture, she knew he was the one.

“When I saw Ritter’s picture and description go up at 6 a.m. one morning, I immediately texted my sister and said we had to go bust him outta there right after work,” Spenia told The Dodo. “Two hours later, my sister texted me the Facebook post that she noticed was going viral. So I told my boss the situation and he told me to clock out and get over to the shelter! He’s a dog lover, too.”

When Spenia arrived at the shelter, she was a little nervous because she knew how sad and confused Ritter had been after losing his family, and she didn’t know how he would react to her — but as soon as he came into the room, everything just clicked.

“The minute he came in the visitor area he jogged right on over to me and put his big cute head right in my lap and I could tell he was such a lover,” Spenia said. “I had to have him!”

Spenia immediately applied to adopt Ritter, and on Thursday she was finally able to pick him up and bring him to his new forever home. He couldn’t stop smiling at his new mom on the drive home, and he’s now settling in wonderfully to his new life.

Ritter was the saddest pup around when he first arrived at the shelter, but within days he had the best new mom, who will make sure that he’s happy and loved all the time for the rest of his days.

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