Remember me
Each evening at the Maui Humane Society, Cassondra Christman takes one look back at the kennel line before she locks up and goes home.
She has been volunteering since December 2022, and says she’s at the shelter “almost every day.” But no matter how familiar the routine becomes, the goodbye—when the doors close and the lights dim—hits her the hardest.
“It is one of the most emotional times of the day for me,” Christman told Newsweek. With so many dogs in the shelter, she can’t take every one of them out to play on a single shift.
That means some are still watching when she leaves—hoping for a final treat, another moment outside or simply reassurance that someone is coming back.
“I just can’t imagine all the things running through their heads,” Christman said.
In a video on Instagram, she shared the moment she said goodbye to Mikey, a dog who always looked back at her.
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In the video she locked up for the night, and while many of the dogs nearby were already asleep, Mikey was still awake, standing in his kennel and watching her.
"“I’m the last one to leave and see this. Mikey just hoping he gets to leave too," the on-screen text says.
“I couldn’t believe every time I locked up at night there was sweet Mikey just waiting for his chance,” Christman said. “Hoping maybe he’d get to leave with me—maybe to the yard, maybe home—who knows, but he was the most hopeful patient waiter I had ever seen.”
She said Mikey would remain in the same place for hours.
“All day he would be waiting there all the way until I locked up for the night,” she said. “It was devastating. All the kennels around him look empty but it’s just because all the other dogs in there are sleeping, but not Mikey.”
According to Shelter Animals Count, about 2.8 million dogs and cats entered U.S. shelters and rescues from January through June 2025. The average length of stay for dogs in kennels was 47 days, though older and larger dogs generally waited much longer.
The video struck a chord gaining more than 300,000 views. And while many were heartbroken by the sight of Mikey watching volunteers leave, the video also signaled a turning point for him.
“Lo and behold someone here on Maui saw the video,” Christman said. “They came in and met him and he has now officially been adopted.”
Christman said she was grateful that people understood what the video represented—not just Mikey's story, but the nightly reality of leaving animals behind.
“I appreciated everyone understanding the heartbreak for both him and me during that moment and every night I leave,” she said.
Even with Mikey now in a home, she said, the feeling that inspired the video remains—a volunteer’s final walk through the kennels, and having to say goodbye to animals waiting patiently for happy endings.