Dog in shelter for 400 days does ‘happy dance’ when people walk past. He needs a home
An overlooked dog has spent more than 400 days in a North Carolina shelter — and he still needs a home.
“This sweet, mature boy, who wants nothing more than for you to sit with him or take him out and throw tennis balls, shows so much excitement when he sees someone walk past,” Burlington Animal Services wrote Oct. 21 on Facebook. “He does a tiny little happy dance. Sometimes the person visits with him. Sometimes they don’t. But in the end, Butch is left alone, waiting for the next person.”
The shelter said “it can be hard to watch Butch” and believes his year spent in a kennel is taking its toll on him.
“He gets up a little less frequently,” the shelter wrote. “He tends to just lie on the floor next to his bed. And, he has picked up a habit of licking the glass front of his room, a sign of the stress that he feels after being in a kennel for so long.”
Butch’s journey toward adoption started in January 2023, when he came to the shelter as a lost dog and never got reclaimed. He was adopted after a few months but returned in September 2023 as his owner experienced homelessness, Animal Services wrote in social media posts and an email to McClatchy News.
Butch is now the shelter’s longest resident and has become known as a “friendly, affectionate” mixed-breed pup. The shelter believes the 5-year-old dog is being overlooked due to his age and 60-pound size.
“People tend to shy away from his size, so they never get to see him roll over for belly rubs or cuddle up close, which is all he really wants,” Sydney Herron, community engagement manager for Animal Services, wrote in the email.
Butch also doesn’t get along with all pets, so the shelter recommends that potential adopters bring their existing dogs to visit with them. As of Oct. 23, an online adoption profile still listed him as in need of a new owner.
“We have watched him patiently wait for a home for over a year, and it is time to make this happen,” the shelter wrote. “Butch deserves a home where he can relax without the constant barking of other dogs around him, where he can be touched and scratched and rubbed every day, and where he can sit next to his person any time he wants.”
The shelter is in Burlington, a roughly 20-mile drive east from Greensboro. More details about its adoption process can be found at burlingtonnc.gov/pets.
This story was originally published October 23, 2024 at 9:29 AM with the headline "Dog in shelter for 400 days does ‘happy dance’ when people walk past. He needs a home."
