A dog found as a stray and taken to a pound began excitedly wagging its tail when its owners turned up, only for the family to say they wanted a different one.

Shelter staff at Downer Animal Care Center in California picked up Zuzu from a local garden after it was reported as a stray.

But Desi Lara, an employee at the centre, was shocked when the German Shepherd mix ran up to the family who had arrived looking for a new pet.

Writing on her Facebook page, Ms Lara described Zuzu as the “happiest dog” at seeing the group of three.

“With her fast wagging tail seeing her owners, Zuzu lit up like a Christmas Tree,” she wrote.

“But no. Talking to her owners they told me they were not here to reclaim her, they were getting another dog."

According to Ms Lara, the owners decided to let Zuzu go as the “heartbroken” dog would not stop crying at the death of her father.

The dogs from Instagram Show all 6 1 /6 The dogs from Instagram The dogs from Instagram Noodle the Dachshund is just over a year old and comes with her own hashtag (#OodlesOfNoodle) The dogs from Instagram Three-year-old Staffie Ramsey was malnourished when he was adopted as a puppy but is now big and boisterous with ripped muscles and a cheeky grin The dogs from Instagram Winny the Welsh Corgi has been credited with the breed's upsurge in popularity The dogs from Instagram Bruno the miniature Dachshund has 66,700 followers The dogs from Instagram Mika the Husky has 58,900 followers The dogs from Instagram Elle the French Bulldog has 8,868 followers

In a later update, the centre confirmed the animal would be leaving the shelter on Friday after a rescue group had agreed to take her in.

The footage has enraged viewers of the video on social media. Diane Williams said the family “were not worthy of her loyalty”. While Toni McCormick wrote: “People that surrender a dog should be on a no adopt list!”