Unique Puppy Who Never Experienced 'Human Contact' Finds Forever Home
10Jan’24
Newsweek
By: Lucy NotarantonioPublished: Jan 10, 2024
After spending the first four months of his life in a junkyard and subsisting on scraps, this adorable mixed breed has finally found a family to call his own.
On January 5, Brother Wolf Animal Rescue in Asheville, North Carolina, shared a Facebook post introducing Mike, a blonde puppy.
“With almost no human contact in his life, Mike is a very unique puppy,” read the post, which has already received over 1,200 likes.
Mike arrived at the shelter three weeks ago. Newsweek spoke to Brooke Fornea, the shelter’s director of marketing, about the dog.
The viral post said that Mike was found in the yard with other dogs, who were all rehomed before him. He required extra time around humans to learn that they can be trusted and aren’t going to hurt him.
“We believe the dogs were tossed food and scraps over the fence,” told Fornea, “They were surviving but not thriving.
She added: “When he first arrived at Brother Wolf, he was terrified.”
Fornea explained that Mike would whimper and flinch when volunteers moved their hands. Even taking out a cell phone from their pockets would scare him.
She told Newsweek: “After spending a few weeks in a loving foster home and time with our behavior team, he quickly made tons of progress. Currently, he is very hesitant around new people, but winning him over doesn’t take long.”
Mike has certainly stolen the hearts of the internet as the post has amassed more than 100 comments.
One user said: “He’s adorable and will blossom I’m sure once in the right home where he knows what true love is.”
“What soulful eyes he has. He deserves all the love,” said another user.
According to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty (ASPCA), about 6.3 million companion animals enter U.S. animal shelters nationwide every year. Of those, approximately 3.1 million are dogs and 3.2 million are cats.
The 2019 Shelter Animals Count data also states that approximately 4.1 million shelter animals are adopted each year (2 million dogs and 2.1 million cats).
Fortunately, Mike is one of them and now his life has dramatically changed for the better as he has found a forever home.
Fornea told Newsweek: “He has been adopted by a wonderful family with three other dogs who are showing him that he is now living the good life!”
Mike isn’t the only canine who has been lucky enough to find somewhere to live. Newsweek has shared many stories highlighting the happy endings for shelter dogs but sadly, this isn’t the case for all of the dogs. The ASPCA states approximately 390,000 dogs are euthanized every year.
Katrina, an eight-year-old canine, is currently on death row despite being adored by the staff at her shelter.