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After A Year In A Shelter, Pup Falls Asleep Smiling When He Finally Finds Forever Family

Written by: Stephanie Maguire
Stephanie Maguire is a writer for iHeartdogs.com. She loves animals so much that she started her own pet-sitting business in 2017, and goes out of her way to point-out and pet every single dog she sees.Read more
| Published on January 6, 2023

When a shelter is super full, it can be incredibly easy for amazing animals to be overlooked. Plus, plenty of people particularly favor smaller dogs and are often intimidated by both larger dogs and bully breeds. That’s exactly what happened with Petey, a year-long resident at a county shelter. 

But once he was transferred to an SPCA and his adorable picture was shared with a larger audience, he finally found his forever family.  

Petey
Facebook

Petey was the longest resident at his small county shelter in North Carolina. No matter how many people came to peruse the adoptable animals, he was perpetually overlooked. This happened over and over again for an entire year. So, the shelter decided to reach out to the SPCA of Wake County for help. 

After all, Petey deserved the greatest opportunity to find a forever family, and they had more time and resources to find him the perfect home. Plus, they had a larger online audience. 

Living life in a shelter can certainly be stressful, even if the animal is only there for a short time. Never mind how it must have felt spending an entire year living life behind bars (so to speak). Yet Petey remained sweet, friendly, and positively playful. After meeting him, it absolutely shocked the staff at the SPCA that such a sweetheart hadn’t yet found a forever home. 

“He was super friendly from day one and very playful. We couldn’t believe that nobody wanted him,” said SPCA Spokesperson Samantha Ranlet.

New Family
Facebook

As soon as Petey arrived, the SPCA shared his picture on social media. (The one at the top of this post.) They had actually expected that it may take a while and perhaps even some extra work for him to find a family. But, within a few short weeks, Petey hit the lottery. His new family took one look at his sweet face, and instantly fell in love with him. They knew from looking at his photo that Petey would be a perfect addition to their family.

Now, he no longer falls asleep in a shelter, he does so all curled up in his very own cozy bed with a big smile on his adorable face! 

That is the smile of a dog who knows he’s home,” wrote the SPCA in a social media post.

Smiling
Facebook

Finally, Petey has been sprung from shelters for good. And now he gets to live life alongside a furry sibling and smitten humans. We’re so happy for you Petey!

Featured Image: Facebook 

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