12-year-old leaves his beloved pup outside an animal shelter to protect him from his abusive father

Trigger Warning: This story contains themes of animal abuse that some readers may find distressing. 

Dogs are, without a doubt, man's best friend. However, almost every day we hear about way too many cases of mankind failing to hold up their end of this relationship. While some abandon their four-legged friends at the slightest inconvenience, some monsters physically abuse them to such an extent that it would be a disservice to the animal kingdom to call their actions animalistic. The internet was reminded of the harsh realities of animal abuse when a 12-year-old boy made the heartbreaking decision to part ways with his beloved pup to protect the canine from his abusive father.

According to CNN, a pitbull puppy was left outside a shelter in the Mexican state of Michoacan on February 13. In an emotional letter, he left with the canine, the boy who identified himself as Andrés, explaining that he was giving up the puppy to protect him from his violent and abusive father who was planning to sell the animal. The letter that was shared on Facebook by the dog rescue group Xollin reads: My name is Andrés and I am 12 years old. My mom and I decided to leave my dog in your hands, hiding it from my dad because he is thinking about selling him.

But he mistreats and kicks him. One day he kicked him so hard that he hurt his tail. I hope you can help and take care of him. I left him a stuffed animal so he won't forget me, Andrés added. Unfortunately, not much is known about the boy except for his name, age and that he is from Mexico. Soon after receiving the puppy, the shelter took him for a health check-up as—like the boy mentions in his letter—the canine's tail had been fractured and required immediate medical attention.

Xollin also revealed in the Facebook post that they would have the puppy dewormed and get started on his health chart before putting him up for adoption. "We need to take the dog to the vet so he can check his tail, which apparently is fractured. We also need to remove parasites and get him a check-up. This means more expenses and works for us, but luckily the dog will be safe," the group said in the post. Soon after sharing the post, the animal shelter was flooded with over 300 adoption requests for the pup from across the country.

However, the group reminded the internet that in addition to the pitbull puppy—who they've named Rene—that the shelter houses about 120 other animals who are also in need of loving homes. "If everyone opened their heart and their home like this little dog, they would have adopted all our dogs from the shelter," the rescuers said in a Facebook post. Andrés and Rene's story also touched the hearts of social media users across the globe, many of whom offered to help with his veterinary expenses.

Facebook user Paul El-Meouchy wrote: Hello - I live in the US, so it would be very difficult to adopt one of your dogs, and I already have a wonderful rescue dog of my own named Max, but we would love to donate a little money to help with veterinary expenses. Please let me know if this is possible and how to do it. Another user, Doolzhe Morales, commented: Those puppies are super affectionate and grateful. Mine is very tender and not aggressive at all ... take care of it, you can see that this little one. Can you tell me how can I support you, please? Send me an inbox with your card number. Meanwhile, Joann Soares expressed concern for Andrés and his mother, writing: I just hope that someone helps that boy and his mother to get out of that situation. And that maybe he can get his puppy back. for that little boy to do what he did he has a huge heart. His mommy brought him upright. I just hope that he can get back together with his puppy and be safe with his mom and grow up happy and be a man better than his father.

This article originally appeared 4 years ago.