Hearts have been left broken by an incredibly happy-looking dog who has been waiting for almost two full years for her forever home.

Three-year-old Piglet was found as a stray in New Jersey in October 2022, and since then has been in the care of shelters—but despite everything is "full of happy energy and silliness."

First taken in by a shelter in Newark, and now being looked after by the Associated Humane Popcorn Park Shelter (AHPPS) in Forked River, her carers have issued an appeal for someone to finally adopt her after 21 months.

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"That's entirely too long for this sweet dog to sit here wondering if anyone will ever notice her," they wrote in a heartbreaking post on Facebook on August 2.

Across the United States, an estimated 6.3 million dogs and cats enter shelters each year, according to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

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While the good news is that around 4.1 million animals are adopted each year, including 2 million dogs, euthanasia still exists in some shelters, and around 920,00 shelter animals are euthanized annually.

The numbers have dropped by well over half since 2011, when 2.6 million animals were euthanized, thanks in part to an increase in the number of strays either adopted or reunited with their owners.

AHPPS staff member Sandy Hickman told Newsweek: "As of today, [Piglet] has been in the shelter for 651 days. She spent the first four months in our Newark shelter and was later transferred to us in Forked River, NJ."

"We assume that Piglet was named Piglet due to her curly-cue tail," she said. "We don't know what caused it to be the way that it is but we think it's just adorable."

The AHPPS wrote online that they "sure wish someone else would see what we all see in her," and Hickman explained she's a "very active, happy dog" who "loves chasing balls and toys."

But the longer Piglet stays in the shelter, the more it's affecting her. She has developed seasonal allergies, which she takes medication for, but staff hope she may not need them once in a new home.

In their Facebook post, AHPPS wrote that her time in the shelter has led to Piglet not loving being around other dogs, though Hickman told Newsweek she is "open to meeting male dogs her size."

They hope to find her a home "where she can play, have a yard to exercise in, and get plenty of attention," Hickman said of the American Staffordshire terrier mix, as well as a home without small pets.

Over 100 people have commented on the AHPPS' post, with one lamenting: "She is so cute Wish I lived in a place that accepts dogs."

"Praying for you Piglet, you deserve all the love," another wrote, while one commenter said they hope "she finds a good loving home forever."

Another admitted it "breaks my heart" to see the smiley dog without a home, while someone else declared: "Bring love home, bring your best friend home, save them all."

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