Heartbreak As Shelter Reveals All the Dogs 'With No Adoption Applications'

An animal shelter has posted a heartbreaking video showcasing eight dogs who have yet to receive a single adoption application.

Street Hearts Bulgaria, a licensed dog shelter in Bulgaria, posted the clip to TikTok in an attempt to raise awareness about the work they do and the dogs still in need of a home.

Emma and Anthony Smith, the shelter's founders, first moved to the village of Glushka near Dryanovo, a town in north central Bulgaria, in June 2013. "We had planned on living a simple, stress-free life," their website states. "However, we soon became shocked and saddened by the vast number of poorly treated, suffering street dogs we were seeing."

Free-roaming street dogs represent a source of considerable concern in the Balkans.

According to the U.K.-based animal welfare charity Dogs Trust Worldwide, there are estimated to be anywhere between 6 and 8 million strays living without a home across the Eastern European region. The majority of these are found spread across Romania, Serbia, and Bulgaria.

"Responsible dog ownership is not yet well understood, with low levels of neutering," the charity states on its website. "Thus, the source of the many free-roaming dogs in the cities is mostly abandonment of unwanted pets and litters of pups."

Emma and Anthony saw the heartbreaking results of this when they attempted to tackle the street dog situation around Dryanovo. "One dog had 17 puppies with her when we found her," their website said. "All were riddled with fleas and worms."

Realizing that neutering these dogs and releasing them again would not be enough to address the issue, the pair set about converting their home into a small rescue center. Street Hearts Bulgaria has been in operation ever since.

All of the dogs in their care are fully vaccinated and neutered prior to adoption, as required by law, and also receive monthly flea, tick, and worming treatments. However, that's only half the battle: they still need to find new homes for many of these dogs.

Unfortunately, in some cases, that is proving difficult. In the video posted to the shelter's TikTok account, viewers are introduced to eight adorable dogs.

They vary in age from as young as four months to as old as two years and 10 months. However, they all have some things in common: they all have yet to receive a single adoption application.

Dogs like Sage and Thyme the identical five-month-old puppies and fellow canine siblings Gigi and Bella, who appear to have been named after the Hadid sisters.

The plight of these dogs struck a chord with many on social media who were quick to comment on the depressing clip. "They deserve a home," one follower wrote with another commenting: "I wish I could have them all as part of my family."

A third said: "They're all perfect" with a fourth adding: "One would be so lucky to be able to adopt any of these gorgeous dogs."

For now though, these dogs are waiting and hoping that someone gives them a second chance. Earlier this month, five dogs from another shelter that received no interest from potential adopters found their perfect homes.

Newsweek has contacted Street Hearts Bulgaria for comment.