It’s not easy for a shelter dog to find their forever family, especially if you’re a nine-year-old Great Dane.
This is exactly what happened to shelter dog Goliath.
Tye Friis is the founder of Reversed Rescue, a non-profit dog rescue in Leona Valley, California. He shared the story of Goliath, who was turned into his dog rescue.
“A family was backing up a U-Haul, [at] the front gate [of the] Reversed Rescue. Lifted it up and popped him out, and they were turning him in,” he told Rocky Kanaka, a pet rescue advocate and content creator who makes dog videos.
When he arrived, he was emaciated and could see the bones in his body.
No one wanted to adopt him because of his size.
Great Danes are as tall as 32 inches at the shoulder and are taller than most other dog breeds. While they have gentle temperaments, they require a lot of special care because of their size.
Reversed Rescue and Kanaka decided to spend one fun day with Goliath, giving him all the love and attention he deserves.
They brought him to a pet store to buy him everything he touched. Goliath had a great time running around the store with Friis and Kanaka.
His nose touched different toys, including a stuffed elephant that they put right into a shopping cart.
He touched a case of canned dog food on the floor of the store, and Kanaka included it into their growing cart of doggie goods.
You can see Goliath excitedly galloping around the store going through each aisle.
The Great Dane also made a beeline for the dog bones and chose one of the biggest bones available, perfect for his size.
Kanaka helped him by bringing out different kinds of bones he could choose from. Their next stop was the biscuit aisle where the doggie treats were on display. Goliath started eating straight from a container of cookies.
“I think this is the bulk bar, not the buffet bar, buddy,” Triis reminded Goliath as the dog wanted to eat directly from another bin of treats. They pulled him away after a while to ensure he didn’t finish all the cookies.
At the end of their fun trip, they had a shopping cart full of treats, bones, and toys.
What Goliath didn’t know was that he was about to get the biggest and best surprise of the day.
He was about to find out who was going to adopt him
Kanaka asked Triis who was going to adopt Goliath. Triis answered, “I am. I can’t let him go.”
This is the best Christmas present Goliath could receive!
And Santa Claus was waiting for them, ready to help break the good news.
Santa and Goliath spent a few moments playing with each other. Santa petted Goliath and gave him treats.
Next Santa Claus told Goliath, “I have a wonderful surprise for you.”
The curtain opened and Triis walked into the room.
Goliath went straight to him to give him a hug. You can tell how much Goliath and his former rescuer, now owner, love and care for each other.
They both looked happy to be with each other and spend the holidays together.
We’re so happy that gentle giant Goliath found his new forever home!
There are millions of dogs like Goliath in animal shelters and rescues around the country waiting to be adopted. If you want to add a new member to your family, consider adopting from a shelter instead of buying.
Watch the heartwarming video of Santa Claus with Goliath the Great Dane below!
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