Quirky dog waited 373 days in NC shelter. Now, ‘lovable giant’ gets fresh start
A quirky dog waited 373 days at a shelter — then came good news.
Hurley — a “lovable giant” who shows off his dance moves when he gets hungry — was finally adopted in North Carolina.
“We are honestly beyond thrilled,” Danielle Deschamps, communications coordinator for the Watauga Humane Society, told McClatchy News in a Sept. 10 email. “We try never to lose hope, but some dogs really test that belief. With Hurley, we found ourselves quietly worrying: would he be the one we couldn’t place? And then; at long last, his people walked through the door.”
Hurley’s journey to adoption began last summer, when he arrived at the shelter in Boone, a roughly 85-mile drive west from Winston-Salem. He had been found in bad shape after someone asked for a welfare check at a home, McClatchy News reported.
“Hurley’s story is one of heartache turned hope,” the shelter wrote in a Facebook post. “Emaciated and surrendered through a cruelty case, he came into our care wanting nothing more than to belong. In the kennels, his stress ran so deep he’d go on hunger strikes. Staff hand-fed him, sat with him, and willed him to keep going.”
Over time, Hurley gained weight and became known as a “lovable giant.” He also turned into the “ultimate velcro dog, sticking to you closer than peanut butter on toast,” according to a past email and Facebook post.
As Hurley waited for a new owner, he charmed shelter workers with his quirkiness. He was seen dancing for food, “bouncing and wiggling with joy at mealtimes. It was both endearing and heartbreaking — a glimpse of the playful pup he could be once he felt safe and loved,” Deschamps wrote.
Hurley also was packed with energy, after previously living outside with no training. As he adjusted to shelter life and started his recovery journey, the humane society believed his situation may have been overwhelming for potential adopters.
Then, after spending more than one year at the shelter, the resilient pup had a heartwarming adoption. Workers celebrated as he settled in with his new owners.
“When adoption day finally came, after 373 days, it was pure relief and joy,” Deschamps wrote. “Some dogs just need that one special person. For Hurley, it took time, but his story reminds us of the lesson we hold on to: with patience, the right home always comes.”
