A pup found himself back at square one…just because he has a minor problem. As a dog owner, this story brings me to tears.
Senior dogs sadly often have a hard time getting adopted. People generally prefer younger dogs who are more energetic, leading older dogs to spend weeks or months in the shelter.
A seven-year-old Shih Tzu named Charlie is an example of this. While seven isn’t too old, Charlie also had some physical challenges, which made it even harder for him to find a home.
The Associated Humane Tinton Falls, a nonprofit organization based in New Jersey, took in the dog while looking for a potential adopter. At first, they did find one, and they thought the search was over for the hopeful dog.
Unfortunately, Charlie’s new owners were unable to bend down and pick him up to bring him up the stairs at his new house.
The poor pup couldn’t walk up the stairs on his own. As a consequence, Charlie was returned to the shelter, and he was back at square one in terms of finding him forever home.
Disheartened and disappointed, Charlie’s behavior became worse. He avoided eye contact with anyone and preferred to face the concrete wall of his kennel for hours. It seemed that the tiny dog lost all hope after being let down because of a lame excuse.
Charlie took it fairly hard and lost his positive and enthusiastic attitude toward life. He retreated and refused to make eye contact with anybody, even the shelter workers.
He’d just sit there and gaze at the wall. His life had been overwhelmed by hopelessness.
However, that all changed when one special person walked into the shelter and wanted to bond with him. This person was Mackenzie Purdy, and she wanted to give Charlie all the love she could muster.
She figured that the Shih Tzu just needed someone to feel comfortable with and that he would eventually break out of his shell. Because she feared that other potential adopters might not see that in the poor pup, she wanted to spend some more time with him.
“He was a bit older and he walked a little funny, so I had a feeling that not many people would be interested in him,” Mackenzie said to The Dodo. “So many people won’t be interested in the dogs that don’t come to the front of the cage at the shelter.”
Nevertheless, Charlie remained standoffish. Then Mackenzie decided to bring her other dog, Baxter, for a visit, and Charlie and Baxter hit it off like long-lost friends.
“Charlie was wagging his tail more, and Baxter was interested in him,” she recalls. “They told me I could come the next day to bring him home.”
Now Charlie has a forever home with Mackenzie and Baxter.
Source: AWM
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