Rescue Tails / Abby Gets Adopted!

In December of 2021, one of our off-duty volunteers at our Marathon Campus spotted a large white dog running freely through the parking lot of a local shopping complex. Despite appearing to enjoying her momentary freedom, she happily bounded up to our volunteer and jumped right into his car! On this cool winter day, he took a moment to look around the shopping center for a possible owner. As he looked around, everyone appeared to be going about their normal day, so he headed over to the shelter to see if she had a microchip.

We named her Abby, and the unaltered female dog had no chip, collar, tags or form of identification. She was not spayed and had a mass on her hip and chest. All stray animals are held for five days in hopes that an owner will come forward so they can be reunited with their family. In Abby’s case, her owner never came searching for her.

Eventually Abby was spayed, the masses removed, and she was placed for adoption. With a sweet and gentle personality, white fur, brindle patches and big smile, Abby on all fronts seemed to be the type of dog who would quickly get adopted. At an estimated 5-6 years of age, she still had a youthful energy to her, playing with toys, chasing iguanas, and taking long daily walks. However; the days turned to weeks, and then months, and Abby still had not received a single adoption application.

We featured Abby many times on social media, as a featured pet in our newsletter, on the local radio station, and as a staff pick of the week. Even with the “likes” and “shares” still, there was no interest in adopters for Abby. As she reached the golden age of six years old, we added Abby to our Golden Paw Project, a grant funded program for senior pets at our shelters. Through our Golden Paw Project, adopters of selected Golden Paw pets receive a complimentary senior blood panel, a complimentary wellness exam at our Key West Dogwood Clinic, discounted services at our clinic for life, a waived adoption fee and a year’s worth of heartworm and flea prevention. Surely we thought that would be the final push that Abby needed to find her furrever home.

Still, no adopters came for Abby. As she reached her 9 month mark at our Campus, gaining her the undesirable title of longest resident dog, a local gentleman named Dan came to our Marathon Campus in search of a new canine companion after the loss of his beloved dog. Thankfully, Dan was interested in meeting Abby, and the two of them had an instant connection. As it turned out, Dan was who Abby was waiting for all along. Finally, exactly 9 months to the day after we first met Abby, we said our tearful, happy goodbyes as Abby walked out the door with her new Dad.

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