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Joy

Terrified, emaciated dog comes to life as volunteer sits with him for human connection

He tries making himself so small in the kennel until he realizes he's safe.

Rocky Kanaka|YouTube

Terrified dog transforms after human sits with him.

There's something about dogs that makes people just want to cuddle them. They have some of the sweetest faces with big curious eyes that make them almost look cartoonish at times. But not all dogs get humans that want to snuggle up with them on cold nights; some dogs are neglected or abandoned. That's where animal shelters come in, and they work diligently to take care of any medical needs and find these animals loving homes.

Volunteers are essential to animal shelters running effectively to fill in the gaps employees may not have time for. Rocky Kanaka has been volunteering to sit with dogs to provide comfort. Recently he uploaded a video of an extremely emaciated Vizsla mix that was doing his best to make himself as small as possible in the corner of the kennel.

Kanaka immediately wanted to help him adjust so he would feel comfortable enough to eat and eventually get adopted. The dog appeared scared of his new location and had actually rubbed his nose raw from anxiety, but everything changed when Kanaka came along.

The volunteer slowly entered the kennel with the terrified dog, crouching on his knees for an easy escape if needed. But the dog attempted to essentially become invisible by avoiding eye contact and staying curled in a tiny ball. It seemed like it was going to take a long time for this nervous pup to warm up.

Before long, he's offered a treat. Success! The brown dog takes the treat, and as minutes pass you can see his body slowly relax, eventually coming to sit directly next to Kanaka for pets. In the few minutes of the video, you see such an amazing transformation that proves this little guy just needed some love.

"It was so cute when he started wagging his tail. You could tell his whole demeanor just changed, and he was happy. Just a few kind words and a little attention. That’s all animals need. Well, besides food. Lol," one commenter says.

"That moment when he starts to realize he's actually safe. That gradual tail wag, and the ears perking, the eyes lighting up. You don't have to be an expert to show an animal love and respect," another writes.

"After that first treat his entire demeanor changed. He went from not trusting you to thinking you may be kind and he could feel less stressed. That was really amazing to see," someone gushes.

This sweet scared dog just needed human connection by someone taking the time to sit with him to know he was safe. Once he was sure the shelter was a safe place, the dog even welcomed those who came to visit him after seeing the video.

"I went to the shelter today to visit 'Bear'! Everyone would be thrilled to hear that he seems very happy and energetic! He has a little red squeaky bone toy that he loves. He licked my hand immediately and rubbed his head on my legs and arms, eager for affection. What a sweetheart," a commenter writes.

Thanks to Kanaka's sweet gesture, the dog, now named Shadow Moon, was adopted and is now living his best life with his new human dad and husky brother. You can follow Shadow Moon's journey on his Instagram page.


This article originally appeared on 12.1.23

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The American Rescue Dog Show has a 'Best Underbite' category and we're in love

Celebrating the average adopted doggo.

Photo by Gaby Baldiskaite on Unsplash

The award for Best Underbite goes to…

Most of us are familiar with the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show—perhaps through the 2000 Christopher Guest mockumentary "Best in Show," if nothing else. The competition has been around for 143 years, celebrating canine pedigree and showcasing the best of various breeds. Dogs compete in the categories of Sporting, Hound, Working, Terrier, Toy, Non-Sporting, and Herding, and then one lucky pooch ultimately gets named Best in Show.

That's all well and good if you're into that kind of thing, but what about the mutts and misfits? What about the doggos who may be the best human companions but don't have the shiniest coats or the greatest agility? Where's the celebration of them?

Enter the American Rescue Dog Show.

The American Rescue Dog Show celebrates the average adopted doggo. The show is hosted by Joe Tessitore and Rob Riggle, who totally lean into the heartfelt campiness of the idea. The three judges for 2022—Paula Abdul, Leslie Jordan and Yvette Nicole Brown—have all had rescue dogs of their own.

The delightful categories include Best in Ears, Best in Snoring, Best in Wrinkles and Best in Belly Rubs. There's even a Best in Underbite category.

Check out these cuties:

The show's creator and executive producer, Michael Levitt, has two rescue dogs himself, Trooper and Nelson, who serve as mascots for his production company. According to ABC7, Levitt once took an entire year off from producing to help dogs find homes.

"As a rescuer, I'm saving one dog at a time, which is amazing," he told ABC7, "but as a producer, I knew I could do so much more to have an impact on a national level. That's really how 'The American Rescue Dog Show' came about."

And the show puts its money where its underbite is. Dogs who win any of the seven "Best in" categories win $10,000 for their local animal welfare group. The ultimate winner, named "Best in Rescue" gets an additional $100,000 to donate.

The show is perfect family television watching, and Levitt hopes that it will inspire more people to consider rescuing pets instead of getting them from breeders. Animal shelters across the country have pets waiting for people to offer them a welcoming home, and seeing how lovable these doggos are makes it hard to resist.

The show aired on ABC at the end of May but can currently be found on Hulu.


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A teen who was homeless gets his beloved dog back and a place to live thanks to strangers

WREG News Channel 3/YouTube

A teen who was living under a bridge took his puppy to a shelter when he could no longer care for her.

A homeless teen has been given shelter and reunited with his pup after a community rallied around the pair following a heartwrenching and selfless story of surrender.

The anonymous 17-year-old arrived at the Senatobia-Tate County Animal Shelter in Mississippi with a Rottweiler/German shepherd puppy named Jada and a bag of dog food.

“He came in and he asked if he could leave his dog here and I said, ‘Buddy, we are so full,’" Interim Shelter Director Kris Robinson told WREG News. "And he said, ‘Well, I can’t take care of her anymore.’ He said, ‘I live under a bridge,’ and it broke my heart.”

The young man told Robinson he had been living in a tent with the dog, but she had broken out of the tent when he went to find work. Then he said he didn't even have a tent anymore and couldn't afford to feed her.

Robinson agreed to take Jada, despite the shelter not having room for her, and shared a post about the surrender on Facebook.

"This is where she layed [sic] after her owner surrendered her today with her plastic bag of dog food and a blanket," the post reads. "She is devastated. I can’t be mad at her owner though. He is 17, says he lives under a bridge in Tate county. He WALKED her all the way to the shelter and asked us to please take her because he can’t afford to keep her. She’s about 4 mos old and she kept herself pinned to his legs while he was here. We are full but how could we not take her in."

Support for the dog and the teen poured in, with people saying they wanted to do something to help, which moved Robinson to tears.

“For this young man to just be 17 and down on his luck, and no matter what problems he’s facing, he still took the time to walk her over her and make sure somebody was going to take care of her," Robinson told WREG. "I think that says a lot about his character."

The teen filled out a surrender form with a little bit of information about himself, which was enough for Robinson to pass along to people who could help him. The town doesn't have an official homeless shelter, but with the assistance of several community members, the Senatobia police were able to locate the young man and ensure his safety. Local churches have offered assistance, and he has gotten set up with a temporary home at someone's house while he gets his life situation figured out.

He has also been reunited with Jada.

A woman identifying herself as the teen's mom contacted the news outlet after seeing the story. She said he had run away from home and had been missing for a year, and she wanted him to come home. It's impossible to know the circumstances of the family or the teen's home life, but regardless of what led to him living under a bridge at 17, one thing is clear: He did what he had to do to make sure his dog was going to be taken care of, even if it meant giving her up, and that's a responsible, selfless action worthy of praise.

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School kids are writing wholesome notes about shelter dogs that help them get adopted

Photo by Terricks Noah on Unsplash

Richmond kids help shelter dogs get adopted.

There is not much cuter in this world than dogs, with the exception of kids, but putting the two together makes for all kinds of adorable. That’s exactly what Cody and Marie Lucas found when they were on the hunt to rescue a dog from an animal shelter. They knew they wanted a dog and had been to several animal shelters looking for the perfect pup to adopt. When they got to Richmond Animal Care and Control in Virginia they noticed something different about the kennels that held the dogs up for adoption.

There were hand-drawn pictures and colorful notes attached to the dog kennels. On the kennel of a 5-year-old American Staffordshire terrier named Duquesa, the note read “I’m cute and short haired. I can cuddle and bark. Please adopt me.” The note was written in a child’s handwriting. There was another note on Duquesa’s kennel written in Spanish that read “Yo necesito to be adopted. Yo necesito food and agua. Please adopt me.” Marie said that after reading the letters and looking at the dog's sweet face “how could I not love her?”

Looking around the shelter, the Lucases found notes attached to the kennels of other dogs that had health issues and dogs that could be viewed as undesirable by adopters. The notes were all written by children around 8 years old and from the perspective of the dog who was looking for a forever home. The doodles that accompanied the sweet stories added to the appeal for the dogs.

Cody and Marie Lucas with Bonnie.

Richmond Animal Care and Control

The couple decided to bring Duquesa, renamed Bonnie, home with them after reading the letter. The pup had been in the shelter for more than a month and was hard to find a home for due to her limp. There are around 170 animals at the shelter and they stay there until they are adopted in most cases, unless they are deemed too sick to be rehabilitated. Most animals are adopted within three weeks, with the exception of the ones who may have health problems or other issues that make them less desirable, which is where these cute notes come in.

The letters were part of a class project coordinated by Kensey Jones, a second grade teacher at St. Michael’s Episcopal School in Richmond. Jones has been a volunteer at the shelter for the past four years. She also has three rescue dogs of her own, so it’s safe to say this project was close to her heart. Jones wanted to find a way to help the dogs less likely to be adopted find their forever families.

Christie Peters hangs letters on kennels of available dogs.

Richmond Animal Care and Control

Jones told The Washington Post, “The idea just came to me to connect persuasive writing with these adoptable pets that need a forever home.” She thought it would be “a way that I could make their writing real for [the students], and actually make an impact on the world and our Richmond community, specifically.”

The shelter's director, Christie Peters, has a son is in Jones' second grade class. So when Jones approached her with the idea, Peters enthusiastically agreed.

A letter written to hang on a dog named Sunday’s kennel reads: “I would love to be adopted. If you do adopt me, I hope I will brighten up your Sundays like the sun. You’ll be my Sunday Special, and I hope I’ll be yours!” Jones admitted she was surprised at what the kids came up with and that it “pulled at the heartstrings.”

Shelter dogs are always looking for a home that will care for them forever, and this is just one way to make sure they get the families they deserve. If you’re thinking about adding an animal to your family, consider adopting from a local animal shelter. Maybe you, too, will be met with sweet notes from kiddos helping to facilitate successful adoptions.

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