Animal Shelter Staffers Give Standing Ovation for Longest Resident’s Adoption

• Big Mac started distrusting people when he was surrendered by his owner to the shelter.
• His nervous disposition led him to become the shelter’s longest resident at 260 days, until a volunteer fostered him.
• He started opening up and trusting people again thanks to his foster mom’s resident dog, so she decided to make him an official member of her family.

Big Mac was surrendered to the McKamey Animal Center by his owner in December last year because they “didn’t have time for him and they were moving,” said Lauren Mann, the shelter’s advancement manager.

During the pup’s stay at the Chattanooga, Tennessee, shelter, it was clear that the abandoned dog has lost his trust in humans. The nervous pup had a long road to finding a new family who would be patient and caring enough to earn his trust.

Lauren said that the distrustful pup only warmed up “with treats and when he was out of the kennel and in the play yard.”

Soon, Big Mac became the shelter’s longest resident.

Thankfully, one of the shelter volunteers decided to take a chance on him by fostering him in her home. Seeing him open up made her fall in love with him — she knew she had to make it official.

Laura shared, “She said the first night he slept, like, 12 hours straight, and just really opened up and wanted to play with her other dog and even wanted to play with the cats. [He] really made a 180 and was a great dog overall.”

His foster mom said that her resident dog helped calm Big Mac down whenever he got a little scared, until he ultimately learned how to trust people again.

So, after 260 days at the shelter, Big Mac finally walked out of the McKamey Animal Center and into his new home. The shelter staff made sure to commemorate the occasion in a special way:

All the people involved in the ceremony didn’t even bother him anymore!

Laura shared, “His new mom was surprised that he handled it so well, which shows that he’s doing a lot better with stranger danger. He was just ready to go … he didn’t really care about treats or pets or anything. He was just ready to go home.”

We’re so happy that Big Mac found a loving home!

You can help other shelter dogs like Big Mac by donating to the McKamey Animal Center.

Source: The Dodo