All of the shelter dog’s friends have been adopted
Many dogs in shelters struggle to find homes, but Bear seems to have particularly bad luck.
Bear was taken in by the Detroit Animal Welfare Group (DAWG) about three years ago after being discovered as a stray in Flint, Michigan.
Director of DAWG Kelley LaBonty told The Dodo that the child was “approximately 7 months old and terribly malnourished.” He spent some time in foster care, but when the foster family moved in, they were no longer able to care for him.
The staff at DAWG’s shelter thought Bear wouldn’t stay in his kennel for very long because they believed he would be adopted right away.
Bear is great with people, said LaBonty. He adores both men and women and children. He’s quite energetic and enjoys belly rubs and cuddles. He is capable of simple orders.
This adorable pup does have one issue, though: he doesn’t get along with other animals.
It’s challenging, but our goal is to place him in a home without any other pets, according to LaBonty. “Over the years, we’ve brought him to hundreds of adoption events, and he just always gets forgotten about.”
Despite the fact that Bear is repeatedly passed over, what makes his story particularly tragic is how close he has come to finding a home just to be turned down at the last minute.
LaBonty recalled one woman who traveled an hour and a half to meet him and expressed her opinion that he would make a wonderful family pet. It was a family with children, out in the country, with a fenced yard, and it was a very excellent home for him. It was the ideal setting.
However, things didn’t go as planned when DAWG volunteers drove Bear to the family’s home for a formal meet-and-greet.
According to LaBonty, “the kids decided they didn’t want him.” They desired a different canine.
LaBonty claimed that Bear experienced severe depression.
She remarked, “He didn’t want to get back in the car and drive home.”
However, the DAWG volunteers remained committed to Bear. They brought him, along with a number of other animals, to the Michigan Empty the Shelter event hosted by the Bissell Pet Foundation in April.
At that event, every animal from DAWG found a new home except for Bear.
When he returned to the shelter, LaBonty stated, “I snapped a picture of him.” It gained popularity since it was an extremely depressing image. He was reluctant to return to the kennel. Many people yelled, “I’ll take him, I’ll take him, I’ll take him,” but the majority of them didn’t really mean it.
But Bear’s cycle of denial was far from done.
Another woman contacted DAWG after viewing Bear’s photo on Facebook.
“She began posting on our Facebook page, asking, “What’s going on? ” and “I’ll take him, I’ll take him, I’ll take him. Why is he not being adopted? Added LaBonty. So we set up a meet-and-greet for her to come out to the kennel and meet him, but she never showed up. She filled out an application.
Bear has now spent more than 2.5 years at the DAWG shelter.
He is depressed in the kennel, as most canines are after spending two years there, according to LaBonty. He has an outdoor run, so he can enter and exit, but after two years of repeatedly staring at the same wall, they start to become quite depressed.
She continued, “Most of the time he just lays on his bed with his head down.
LaBonty is still optimistic that Bear will find a home despite all of the setbacks he has experienced.
He enjoys running and would be a great running buddy, according to LaBonty. When we’re outside, he spends hours playing in a yard with us. Because he’s so entertaining, he’s one of our favorites at the shelter. He’s just a ham and makes everyone around him giggle.
But LaBonty wants the best possible home for Bear, not just any house.
We don’t want to make him fail, she declared. “We all adore him, and we don’t want to place him in an unfortunate circumstance where he would fail. Therefore, we work to find him the best possible home, and we’re hopeful that it will do so soon.
