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.
Vets think that the pup has an injury in one of his spinal discs, which is why the pup can’t stand well on his feet and constantly wabbles.
The poor pup couldn’t walk up the stairs on his own, and the owner decided to return the pup to the shelter because they weren’t able to bend down to carry him everywhere. The home wasn’t a good fit for Charlie, and the owner realized it and returned Charlie back to the shelter.
In other words, Charlie was right back at square one.
Even though the shelter crew did their best to keep Charlie busy and give him as much affection and attention as possible, the four-footer still felt lonely, depressed, and needed more human interaction.
Charlie’s mood started to worsen soon. The small dog refused to make eye contact with anyone who passed by, even the shelter staff. He also kept staring at the concrete wall in the shelter and didn’t want to interact with the other pups. He felt absolutely hopeless.
However, that all changed when one special person walked into the shelter and wanted to bond with him.
Mackenzie was looking to adopt another pup, and she couldn’t get Charlie out of her head. 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.”
He was distant, but the woman did notice that Charlie slowly started to show some signs of improvement.
“I asked the shelter staff if I could spend some time with him out in the yard,” she recalls. “He was very reserved, and not very interested in me. He did not show much in the way of affection, but he did do a very little tail wag when I walked closer to him.”
The kind young woman was determined to give Charlie a better life. Since bonding with him wasn’t going as quickly as she’d hoped, she decided to bring her other pup, Baxter, along the day after.
Baxter and Charlie hit it off right away. You could just see the excitement that little Charlie had, as he started waggling his tail more and more. Everyone then thought it’d be a great idea to take Charlie home.
“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.”
He also gets along really well with the rest of the family and loves to play around.
“He has been adjusting well,” Mackenzie told. “My boyfriend and I have been taking him on short walks, and picking him up when we encounter steps. He is a very good boy. He is very quiet and goes with the flow.”
Just a week before his adoption, Charlie stared at the wall constantly and seemed to have lost his love for life. Now, Charlie is as happy as can be and loves his new family so much. How sweet!
Please SHARE this with your friends and family.
