Texas - At the ripe old age of 22, a female dog was surrendered to a shelter in Texas. It quickly became clear that the animal was no stranger, which is why it hurt even more when the staff learned why the four‑legged friend had to go back to the shelter.

Agatha first came to the shelter in 2011. She had been rescued from the streets as a stray and was completely terrified.

But shortly after, her happy ending seemed perfect: a family took her to heart and adopted her.

However, the staff's assumption that Agatha had finally found a home for good was shattered in a heartbreaking way fifteen years later, as the very same family then returned the dog to the shelter.

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By this point, Agatha was blind and deaf. In human years, she had reached the advanced age of about 104: an age at which an animal should be enjoying its twilight peacefully, not being given up by its owners.

"The reason given for [the family] surrendering her was simply because she was old," Maddie Cantrell told The Dodo.

The volunteer still remembers the moment she first saw Agatha at the shelter: "I gasped," Maddie said.

"She is such a beautiful, gentle girl, and I couldn't imagine what she was thinking or feeling being in an unfamiliar place as a blind, deaf senior dog."

Agatha's caretakers were determined not to let the four‑legged friend spend her golden years alone in a kennel.

That's why Maddie, who founded the organization The Senior Dog Squad, took the shelter pup with her.

Among other rescued senior dogs, Agatha should never feel unwanted again.

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"Aggie will remain with me for the remainder of her life," Maddie explained.

"I do believe that she will have a great last chapter, and that she still has quality of life and lots of love left to give."

Unfortunately, Agatha's fate is not unique: "Older animals are so often discarded and are notoriously harder for shelters and rescue organizations to adopt out," Maddie said.

She, therefore, hopes that the story of sweet Aggie will inspire others to adopt senior animals.