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Joy

Shelter dog doesn't know what to do with her first toy but melts when offered affection

The stray pup's smelly, itchy skin condition didn't stop Rocky Kanaka from scooping the sweet girl into his arms.

Rocky Kanaka/YouTube (used with permission)

Katie's had a rough life so far, but she's starting to get the care she needs.

When Rocky Kanaka first met Katie, a scruffy beige Australian Shepherd mix, he thought she was a senior dog. As it turned out, the shelter pup was only about a year old. She had just been found by a good samaritan as a stray, her fur and skin in terrible shape, her paws swollen and her spirit muted. She didn't even want to look at Kanaka when he first entered the kennel to sit with her.

That all changed as he took the time to sit with her and earn her trust. Kanaka has gained a huge following on YouTube with his videos sitting with shelter dogs, and his way with them is truly inspiring. He brings his own home-baked treats and a huge amount of patience and compassion, helping abandoned animals learn that humans can be kind and caring companions.

Katie is one of many dogs Kanaka has visited, and her behavior in the kennel showed him that she hadn't had much of a chance in her short life to learn how to be a dog.

For instance, when Kanaka offered her a stuffed unicorn to play with, she didn't know what to do with it. He tried a squeaky toy, which she also didn't know what to do with and found overwhelming after a few squeaks. She took Kanaka's treats, but not immediately and not in the way a dog who understands the concept of treats would.

But throughout the video, the stray pup responded to Kanaka's affection and love by melting right into it. She even wanted to sit in his lap toward the end, but didn't seem to know how. Kanaka scooped her up, despite the foul smell her skin condition created, and it's clear that this pupper just loves being loved.

Watch:

It's hard for animals with obvious health issues, especially something as visible as a skin condition that makes them look and smell bad, to attract people looking to adopt. But by taking half an hour to get to know her, Kanaka helped us all look past all that and see Katie's sweet spirit shine through.

So many people fell in head over heels for Katie through this video:

"OMG, The person who gets her will have the best dog as she is so obviously starved for affection and so willing to give it back ten fold."

"That dog doesn't have an aggressive bone in her body. she was instantly ready for you to pet her."

"Her little tail wag broke my heart for what’s she’s been through but also lifted my spirits that she has a strength to survive and become a loved family member."

"It's shocking how neglected she looks but her desire to be loved is so strong. She's going to bring such joy to her forever home."

"I consider myself somewhat of a tough guy.... I'm from the streets, had a crazy hard life, i did 9 yrs in prison, seen it all, done it all and ain't scared of nothing... I'm telling you that because in spite all that, when i see videos like this, i start crying like a 5 yr old girl...Goes to show you that what life has done to them, we can relate, and we see it in animals that have been hurt by others and part if me wants to knock out someone that would hurt a dog or kitty like that. Animals bring out the love and compassion we've forgotten because we know they're teaching us what we definitely need to learn. What is truly considered, unconditional love...."

Rocky Kanaka's work with dogs is both inspiring and informative, and he's succeeded in helping so many dogs find forever homes instead of languishing in shelters because they don't make the best first impression. Not long after this video aired, Katie was rescued and will hopefully continue to get the tender care and kindness she deserves.

Follow Katie's journey on Kanaka's website here. You can also follow Rocky Kanaka's channels on YouTube, TikTok and Instagram.

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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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