Rescue Tails / Rusty gets Adopted

-Contributed by FKSPCA Staff

On Saturday, August 26th our Key West and Marathon Campuses participated in the Nationwide Clear the Shelters event. For one day we waived adoption fees for both Campuses for all animals thanks to sponsors who generously covered adoption fees in hopes that as many animals would find forever homes as possible. Together we adopted 17 animals in one day, and had one very exciting adoption at our Marathon Campus.

Rusty did not come from a safe, loving environment. His owner was prone to violence and was often incarcerated due to his temper. Therefore, when Rusty entered our shelter in July of 2022 he wasn’t in the best condition. Not only was he very frightened, but he was also heartworm positive.

Over the course of several weeks Rusty lowered his guard and his personality really began to shine through. Despite his intimidating looks and rough past, Rusty turned out to be a sweet, funny and sensitive dog. He quickly learned the routine and thrived in a stable environment. In fact, Rusty seemed very happy at the shelter. He loved the staff and volunteers. He loved his daily walks and playing with his favorite big red ball. He had his kennel, and his yard and he loved them both. Rusty was the one dog at the shelter where you could just open his kennel door and he would walk himself to his yard. He was perfectly content and perhaps thought of the shelter as his home, and the staff as his family.

Although we were overjoyed that Rusty was so happy and comfortable at the shelter, we knew that this wasn’t a home and we weren’t his forever family. Rusty completed his heartworm treatment, and he was ready to be adopted. But the weeks turned into months as time and time again Rusty was overlooked at the shelter. Even though he was a gentle giant, he was still a burly 80 pound pit bull. Those months turned into a year and still Rusty had not found a home.

So, at Clear the Shelters when Chris called to ask if Rusty was still there everyone was eager and excited. After a counseling session Chris, his girlfriend Courtney and Rusty went for their first walk together and then to our Meet n Greet yard to get to know each other. Everything was going swimmingly, and once their meet was over we asked the big question… “Do you want to adopt Rusty?” Enthusiastically the answer was YES! One year and one month after entering our shelter, Rusty was finally home.

[livemarket market_name="KONK Life LiveMarket" limit=3 category=“” show_signup=0 show_more=0]