All shelter dogs dream of finding a home of their own, but some dogs get passed over time and time again, and begin to lose hope that they’ll ever get adopted.

That’s what one heartbreaking viral photo showed, as a 3-year-old shelter dog looks devastated after not getting adopted again. But despite everything, there is still hope for this lonely dog…

Rocky, a 3-year-old pit bull, has been in the care of Lollypop Farm, Humane Society of Greater Rochester since October 2022, when his family was evicted from their home and could no longer care for him, according to Newsweek.

Since then, Rocky has been adopted out twice only to be returned to the shelter, along with a few two-week adoption trial periods. Despite these glimmers of hope, Rocky has always ended up back where he started.

“He was most recently returned this past September and has had no luck since. He’s a great dog, but he would thrive in a certain type of home that may be more difficult to find,” communications specialist Lindsay Brewer told Newsweek, explaining that Rocky would do best as the only dog in an adults-only home.

After more than a year of rejection and false starts, Rocky is starting to take things to heart, as evidenced by a heartbreaking photo the shelter posted a few weeks ago.

Rocky sits in his kennel, all alone, hanging his head down as if devastated after another day of being passed over.

“This 3-year-old handsome guy is losing hope in finding a home. He really needs our community’s support in spreading the word about him so his new family can find him,” Lollypop Farm wrote on Facebook.

The photo touched many hearts online, and the photo has gone viral with over 31,000 shares on Facebook and over 600 comments. Many wished this sweet dog lucky in finding a home soon, and others offered to pay his adoption fee.

The photo generated a lot of interest in Rocky. On December 1, the shelter wrote that he had been placed on adoption hold, but later said that “no adopters have worked out.”

But days after that, they posted another update saying that Rocky has been on an “adoption sleepover” since December 7. If things continue to go well, Rocky might finally have his forever home. If things fall through, the shelter will update their post to indicate if they are still looking for adopters.

While Rocky has certainly touched a lot of hearts, he is far from the only dog longing for a home this holiday season, and Lollypop Farm urged people to consider adopting one of their other available dogs

It’s heartbreaking to see a shelter dog looking so sad like this — we hope Rocky finally finds his perfect forever home soon!

Please share this story to spread the word about Rocky!