I waited 7 years in the shelter and no one wanted to adopt me, is it because I’m ugly?

Kano had lived in the shelter for seven years. It was a lifetime in  dog years. He’d watched puppies grow into adults, and adults grow old, all while the cold, hard kennel walls remained his constant companion. He’d seen countless  dogs leave, their tails wagging with joy as they departed with new families. But Kano was always left behind.

He was an ordinary dog, with brown fur and average size. Nothing particularly striking about him, except perhaps his eyes, which held a world of sadness and longing. He’d often looked in the kennel’s reflective surface, studying his own image. He wasn’t ugly, he concluded, just ordinary. But in the world of adoption, ordinary seemed to be overlooked.

Today, as usual, people came and went. Some stopped to scratch his ears, others simply looked and moved on. Kano watched, his tail drooping with disappointment. He’d grown accustomed to the routine, the hope that flared every time someone approached his kennel, and the subsequent despair when they left.

As the day wore on, the shelter grew quiet. The other dogs settled down for the night, their whimpers and barks subsiding into a soft chorus. Kano was alone with his thoughts, a world of loneliness and self-doubt. He wondered if he was destined to spend the rest of his life behind these cold, metal bars. Perhaps, he thought, it was his appearance that held him back. If only he were different, if only he were special.

As darkness enveloped the shelter, Kano curled up in his kennel, his body trembling slightly. He closed his eyes, trying to escape the bleak reality of his existence. In his dreams, he saw himself as a beloved pet, running through fields, playing with children, and feeling the warmth of a loving home. But when he woke, the harsh reality of the shelter would be waiting, and the cycle would begin anew.