This poor boy was so scared, and he didn’t understand what he had done wrong.

Dogs are sweet, loving creatures who want nothing more than to spend time with their favorite humans. Sometimes, though, they do something we humans perceive as ‘naughty.’

But dogs don’t see it that way. They’re just following their natural instincts.

One dog’s owners gave their dog a punishment that very much didn’t match his ‘crime.’

While they were meant to be looking after the 2-year-old puppy who goes by the name Coby, they decided to drop him at a shelter.They did it because they were tired of Coby rummaging through their bins. Yes, what an appropriate punishment for a dog behaving perfectly normally.

Shelter volunteer Samira El-Hage‎ shared footage of the scared dog on Friends of Fairfield County SC Animal Shelter’s Facebook page.

The video showed the poor puppy hiding in the corner at South Carolina’s Fairfield County Shelter, wondering why his owners had abandoned him.Samira shared along with the clip, “I had no idea he was a surrender… surrendered because he kept getting into the trash?? I thought he was picked up as a stray.”

“That explains why he is scared out of his mind… almost like a feral dog would be… but not once did he growl, or try to bite. He wanted to hide under the raised bed or run away when we got outside.

“He kept trying to chew the leash and would not look at us, he had to be carried out and carried back in… and he just stands in that corner facing the wall.”

Don’t worry, though, because this story does eventually have a happy ending.

The Dodo reported that in addition to Samira, someone else was moved by Coby’s situation. Leigh Maddox, Founder of Compassion For Cats of Delaware, was in absolute disbelief after hearing about this story.

She couldn’t understand why a family would abandon their pet – who is clearly very sweet and loving – for such a tiny thing.

She immediately planned a nine-hour journey for Coby, where with the help of charity Pilots n Paws, he would be transported to his new home with his new, loving foster mom, Olivia Fritz.

Leigh shared with The Dodo, “He tugged at my heartstrings and I instantly knew we had to pull him [from the shelter].”

In the first month at his new home, he was still understandably shaken and apprehensive. But he began to warm up to his new life.Fritz added, “My personal dogs have ALWAYS been trash diggers and we as a family have come up with creative ways to help with that behavior. This is what a family should do when they own dogs – not dump them in a shelter. The entire story just broke my heart. He is super special to the rescue and he will get nothing but the best home when he is ready!”

Coby’s story went viral, and applications poured in to adopt him. Soon-t, the sweet boy found his forever home, a place where he could grow into the dog he was meant to be. What a great happy ending.