For most dogs, getting a forever home after being in the shelter is a dream come true. It’s basically the “I’m getting adopted” equivalent for dogs! They can live in homes that feed them, care for them, and give them personal attention that you can’t get with all the dogs at a shelter.
For one pup, the shelter life was all he knew.
When a dog gets adopted, it usually means that the shelter won’t see them again! While it can be bittersweet, it is actually a good thing. If a shelter sees a dog that they have already adopted, it usually means something has gone wrong. As a general rule, you don’t want to be “returned” to the shelter as a dog!
Gumby is a pup that just kept on getting taken back to the shelter.
Gumby is a super cute hound mix that looks to be around 3 or 4 years old. For a young and energetic pup that wasn’t too advanced in years, the odds of being adopted looked pretty great. When Gumby was found, he was taken to the Charleston Animal Society in South Carolina. The shelter is a no-kill shelter, and the volunteers knew that Gumby wouldn’t have any issues being adopted.
The friendly dog didn’t know a stranger and soon got adopted!
With a great demeanor and a bill of clean health, the pup was soon adopted! As it turned out, the shelter was right in guessing he would get taken to a forever home soon. Then, something strange happened. Then it happened again.
Gumby was taken back to the shelter only three days after he was adopted!
For some strange reason, the family that brought Gumby home brought him back after only three days! No matter, the shelter knew that he was still very adoptable. Then, he was adopted a second time – and brought back only six days later!
Time after time, Gumby found himself in a forever home, only to be taken back again!
The poor pup went through home after home, exhausting his possibilities. The process went on for over two years, with him being returned eight times and being found as a stray three times! What in the world was going on with Gumby!
As it turns out, Gumby may have some reasons for always escaping!
How do you think that our loving pup got the name Gumby? He is a master escape artist! When the shelter volunteers thought about it, they realized that he was one of the best escapees they had ever seen. When they brought in Donya Satriale, an animal behaviorist, things became even clearer.
Donya believed that Gumby felt an obligation to help the scared animals at the shelter!
In other words, Gumby had work to do. The loving dog had an insane capacity for empathy and was always used to calm down the other dogs that needed it. The escape artist had another talent – caring for those who were hurting around him.
Now, Gumby has a forever home that he isn’t escaping from.
The shelter that he always returned to became his new home! The special pup now gets to play with over 50 other dogs a day and help them adjust to their time in the shelter. Even better, he was even featured in the shelter’s annual fundraiser! Each year they sell Charleston Firefighter Calendars, and Gumby was the fire-dog featured alongside jacked firemen! What a life.
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