By Liz O'Connell
Reporter
0
Share
Newsweek is a Trust Project member
See more of our trusted coverage when you search.Prefer Newsweek on Googleto see more of our trusted coverage when you search.
Far too often, animal shelters share sad stories of pets who need forever homes, but one Kansas-based shelter flipped the switch and posted a touching alumni story to social media.
The Great Plains SPCA, in the Kansas City metro area, housed Pebbles for over 300 days. Her time at the shelter was far longer than the average length of stay for animals. This shelter reported the average was 27 days in 2022.
But she finally got her happy ending as her forever family scooped her up.
Read More
‘Timid’ Dog Looking for Home After Being Returned To Shelter a Second Time3 min read
Emaciated Dog Now ‘Picture of Health’ After Foster Carer Helps Him Recover3 min read
Dog Who ‘Couldn’t Find Anyone to Love Her’ Is Adopted After 1,030 Days4 min read
The shelter shared the alumni update on Facebook with a message from the adopter.
...
"Pebbles is great. We call her Goose now and she has settled right into her new routine," the November 5 post reads. "She and Gracie (her Lab sister) love to play tug of war with toys and steal each other's bones."
Sounds like Goose and her Labrador sister have a relationship just like human siblings; they get along but they also like taking things from each other.
Goose gets to stretch her legs with multiple daily walks and trips to the dog park. The adopter said she likes to spend hours on the deck, watching the world or waiting to chase a squirrel.
"She is a hilarious, quirky, sweet dog that has quickly won over our hearts," the post continued.
As fortunate as Goose is to have her happy ending, plenty of animals spend the rest of their days in a shelter with their health declining from the stress and hope fading.
Another Great Plains SPCA dog named Scooby was living in the shelter for over 300 days. With only one meet-and-greet and no fosters willing to take Scooby home, the shelter was forced to give an ultimatum—find an adopter or long-term foster by October 9 or they would have to consider humane euthanasia.
Luckily, the post worked and Scooby was saved, but decisions like this one happen daily at shelters across the country, as they are feeling the impact of overcrowding and a growing number of pets surrendered.
Each year, 6.3 million pets are surrendered to U.S. shelters, an average of 17,260 a day, according to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. The number of dogs and cats taken in by pet shelters hit 46,807 during January 2023, an increase of 1,744 compared with January 2022, the 24Pet "Shelter Watch Report" found.
Around 920,000 surrendered animals are euthanized every year. Shelters are striving to minimize euthanasia rates by promoting adoption campaigns, spaying and neutering programs, and behavior rehabilitation.
Do you have funny and adorable videos or pictures of your pet you want to share? Send them to life@newsweek.com with some details about your best friend and they could appear in our Pet of the Week lineup.
View 0 Comments
Submit Correction
View Editorial & AI Guidelines