People adore cute dogs, and they are usually the first to be adopted from shelters.
However, one adorable dog at the SPCA of Wake County has not had the same luck. Martin is his name. Martin is a senior dog who was surrendered by his senior father, who could no longer care for him in his old age.
“His [dad] was 89 years old and reached a point where he couldn’t provide the life that he felt Martin deserved,” Samantha Ranlet, marketing communications specialist at SPCA, told The Dodo. “He wanted a better life for him.”
It was a valid, albeit very sad, reason.
Martin is no longer a young dog, and he requires someone to look after him and his needs. Martin’s former father also wished for him to go to a home where he could live out his final days comfortably.
And, you know what, it appears Martin is aware of this and understands his father’s decision.
“He adjusted fairly well,” Ranlet noted. “I’m not sure if he realized what was going on, but he was just this happy, easy-going, really sweet old man with a teddy bear face from the start.”
Martin has had a difficult time finding adoptive parents.
He was adopted but returned every time. In fact, he’s been returned seven times in the last two months.
Caring for senior dogs is difficult, as they most likely discovered when they adopted Martin. In addition, he has heartworm.
However, the shelter’s staff has not given up. They knew Martin’s future family was somewhere out there.
As a result, they did the next best thing.
They advertised Martin on their Facebook page in order to find him a new family.
“Martin is truly the best boy. Martin used to cuddle up with their grandkids so they could lay their heads on him for a nap, according to his former owner.
He gets along with dogs of all sizes and energy levels and is housetrained and crate-trained. Martin is a bit hard of hearing (he’s 10 years old), but he still knows some tricks and loves being rewarded with treats,” they wrote on their Facebook post.
And guess what? It worked!
The post gained a lot of traction and almost 3,000 shares. It goes without saying that in less than 48 hours, His adoption application had reached its maximum capacity.
One of these applications was submitted by a couple who had experience caring for elderly dogs.
They were not concerned about his age or the fact that he had heartworm disease, Ranlet shared. “They just fell in love with him and his teddy bear energy.”
It’s funny because Martin became incredibly well-known thanks to the post:
The SPCA of Wake County staff is grateful and overjoyed that Martin is now living in his new home even though they miss him every day.
We’re so happy Martin has such a wonderful forever family! Below is a video about the SPCA of Wake County.