Hank the Adopted Dog

On October 27^th, 2017 I dragged my boyfriend to volunteer with me at Petsmart’s Adoption Day. I walked in and began to sign in and immediately noticed a puppy at the very back of the room sitting in his kennel.

I was instantly drawn to him and decided as soon as I was done checking in I was going to go over to him. However, my boyfriend beat me to it.

He was a 9-month-old Catahoula mix and had only ever known his kennel as a home. He had never had a yard, a companion, a soft bed, his own toys, or a family. We took him into an adoption room to play with him and noticed he was timid, scared and insecure. He was biting a lot, yapping at other dogs and constantly whining.

We still felt connected to him and decided to adopt him.

We were warned that he had never been inside a home before and his handler couldn’t guarantee how he would act.

He was a completely different puppy after he was adopted.

He finally had a yard to share with his four-legged brother, a soft king sized bed where he can cuddle all night long, all the toys his heart desires and his own loving family.

He no longer is timid and shy; he approaches other dogs while wagging his tail with the only intention to become best friends.

He also got his first (and last) collar with his own name tag with “HANK” engraved into it. I strongly believe it is his favorite thing. I’m convinced he understands that by receiving his collar, he knew he found his home.

I strongly believe that the best dogs anyone can ever own are when they are adopted from the shelter.

Our new boy came from a hard life. He was constantly scared and lonely, living out his life in his kennel.

The nonprofit he was with did the best they could but they have so many animals, and not enough resources for them.

Once he was out of the shelter, he became a confident puppy.

• He is a quick learner, extremely loyal, and very obedient.
• You can see it in his eyes that he knows how lucky he is to be where he is now.
• You can feel his happiness and love every time he curls up and cuddles as close as he can get to you.

 

He is the first dog we have ever rescued and I can promise you we will continue to rescue for years to come.

My advice to you is that you consider doing the same and giving a shelter pup their forever home.