Woman Adopts Foster Dog Before He’s Put Down So He Can Spend 1 Night as Family: ‘Loved Until His Very Last Breath’

Isabel Klee gave a sick foster dog the gift of family just hours before they had to put him down.

The Brooklyn, N.Y., local, who began fostering dogs about seven years ago, brought home a medical and behavioral foster dog named Zero from Muddy Paws Rescue on Dec. 8. Just weeks later, however, she shared an unfortunate update about the state of the senior white dog’s health.

“We’re just having a lot of conversations about Zero and his quality of life,” Isabel said in a Dec. 19 video shared to TikTok. “He’s been mentally declining very rapidly.”

Noting that the pup often spends his days “barking and distressed,” and including videos of Zero barking during all hours of the day, Isabel went on to share the unfortunate news that she and the rescue staff started to have conversations about the most “ethical” ways to handle the situation.

“I’ve never had this happen before so it’s really hard for me to process that I couldn’t help him and I couldn’t save him,” she admitted at the time. “And the last thing I wanna do is explain this to all of my followers who really believe in me and believe in my ability to heal dogs. But I think the reality of this sometimes is, when you take dogs like this, it’s not always possible.”

Two days later, Isabel shared that Zero died while surrounded by the “the people who loved him and the team who tried to help him.”

“There will be no more pain, no more confusion, no more agitation, no more anger,” she wrote in the caption of the Dec. 21 TikTok. “Just the legacy of a resilient little shelter dog who was loved until his very last breath.”

“If I gave him anything, it’s the gift of a person who will miss him long after he’s gone,” she added.

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Hours later, Isabel also revealed that she and her partner made the decision to officially adopt Zero so that he could have a real family before they put him down.

“So today is our last day with Zero,” she said in a Dec. 22 TikTok video. “Jacob and I made the decision that before tomorrow we are going to officially adopt him so that Zero can have a family before he passes. And we are so honored to be that family for him.”