Senior dog who lived alone after owner died needed a home. Then came good news
A “sweet” dog lived alone for months after her owner died — then her luck changed for the better.
After being rescued and struggling at an animal shelter, Dakota the senior pup finally has been adopted.
“No more stressful kennels, lonely nights, or endless waiting. Just a warm home, gentle hugs, and the peace of knowing she’s safe and finally HOME,” a North Carolina shelter wrote May 19 on Facebook. “We truly couldn’t have asked for a better match for this deserving soul.”
The Humane Society of Catawba County shared the heartwarming update a week after it posted an adoption plea online. At the time, it said Dakota had experienced a rough patch.
“At 10 years old, she’s already lived through the kind of heartbreak most of us can’t imagine,” the shelter wrote May 12 on social media. “After her owner passed away, she was left behind — alone in a house for months. No family. No comfort. Just the sound of her own breathing and a stranger who dropped off food and water through the fence.”
When Dakota arrived at the shelter in February, she was “terrified.” She got overstimulated in her kennel but became more comfortable when she got outside, McClatchy News previously reported.
“The barking, the chaos, the movement — it all weighs heavy on her,” the humane society wrote as Dakota waited for a calm home.
As the shelter showered Dakota with extra attention, she kept being overlooked. Then on May 19, the animal organization got the news it had been hoping for.
“Dakota was adopted yesterday, and all the staff/volunteers were beyond excited,” Kaitlyn Ewing, the shelter’s director of intake, rescue and foster coordination, told McClatchy News in a May 20 email. “It was such a relief seeing Dakota finally find someone to give her a chance and the home she deserves. Her dad sent us a photo after getting her home, stating she checked out the yard, met a neighbor, and took a nap right away. She was exhausted.”
The humane society is in the Hickory area, a roughly 55-mile drive northwest from Charlotte.
