Joey Graceffa explains why he had to give away dog Shadow

Jacob Hale

YouTube star Joey Graceffa has explained to his viewers why he had to give away one of his beloved dogs – Shadow – after a series of unfortunate events left him with few options.

Graceffa got Shadow and brother Moon in the latter months of 2019 after his female husky Lark had puppies, opting to keep the two brothers and the family unit together.

However, he and viewers soon started noticing some behavioral issues with Shadow and Moon, with Joey explaining that they would fight quite often – not just small spats, but vicious ones, and by the sounds of it, it was getting gradually worse.

Joey’s pups arrived in November 2019.

Now, in a video posted on March 11, he and boyfriend Daniel Preda explained that they were going to have to say goodbye to Shadow – and why it had come to this.

Joey explained that a viewer had advised him that the fighting may have been caused by something called littermate syndrome, whereby dogs from the same litter grow up to bond really well together and not with the owner, or grow to hate each other and fight constantly.

Evidently, Shadow and Moon went the latter way, and Joey describes an incident in which he thought one of his puppies was going to end up dead as the final straw, realizing then that there was no other option but to give away one of the huskies.

Joey describes the fight he witnessed as “one of the most traumatic things” he’s seen for a while, and was genuinely disturbed by the incident.

They go on to explain that it wasn’t their decision to just get rid of Shadow – they called multiple friends to see if they would want to take either Shadow or Moon, and it just so happened that Shadow was the one to be taken.

Despite the fact that the situation is clearly an emotional one, the solution reached is evidently best for everyone involved, especially given the potential gravity of the issue.

About The Author

Jacob is Dexerto’s UK Editor and Call of Duty esports specialist. With a BA (Hons) in English Literature and Creative Writing, he previously worked as an Editor at Ginx TV. Jacob was nominated for Journalist of the Year at the 2023 Esports Awards. Contact: jacob.hale@dexerto.com.