Young Boy Goes To The Shelter And Picks The Oldest Dog As His New Best Friend

Senior shelter pups often have a hard time getting adopted. Most people are more interested in young dogs and puppies and as a result, many amazingly affectionate and loving seniors get overlooked. One such pup is Shey, a 14-year-old, ᴅᴇᴀꜰ, ʜᴀʟꜰ-ʙʟɪɴᴅ and mostly ᴛᴏᴏᴛʜʟᴇss ᴍɪɴɪᴀᴛᴜʀᴇ poodle.

In November 2017, Shey the 14-year-old ᴍɪɴɪᴀᴛᴜʀᴇ poodle was dropped off at the Animal Ʀᴇsᴄᴜᴇ League for the sᴀᴅᴅᴇsᴛ reason: His family was moving, and they weren’t taking him with them. For the next four months, Shey waited and waited at the shelter for someone to pick him. He was suffering from ᴅᴇɴᴛᴀʟ ᴅɪsᴇᴀsᴇ and had never been ɴᴇᴜᴛᴇʀᴇᴅ, so the ʀᴇsᴄᴜᴇ got him scheduled for sᴜʀɢᴇʀʏ and ᴠᴇᴛ care. Only one of his teeth wasn’t fully ʀᴏᴛᴛᴇᴅ. Being ᴅᴇᴀꜰ, ʜᴀʟꜰ-ʙʟɪɴᴅ and almost completely ᴛᴏᴏᴛʜʟᴇss, there wasn’t exactly a line out the door of adopters waiting to meet him.

But when a young boy named Tristan came in one night last week, none of that mattered. He and his mom were looking for a small dog who loved cuddles, and the shelter staff knew Shey would be a perfect match. Jessica Jorgenson, digital content coordinator for the ʀᴇsᴄᴜᴇ said: “Shey is super sweet and wants to be near people all the time. Shey was very comfortable with Tristan from the beginning.”

As the adoption staff went over some of Shey’s special needs, Tristan held onto every word — clearly willing to do everything he could for the sweet little dog cuddled up in his lap. Jorgenson said: “He understood that Shey couldn’t hear what was going on and might not be able to see things clearly, so he was very slow with his actions. He was just very respectful of what Shey could and couldn’t handle.”

When reviewing Shey’s ᴍᴇᴅɪᴄᴀʟ history, Tristan even pulled out a calendar on his phone and started jotting down when he’d need to bring him to the ᴠᴇᴛ for future ᴠᴀᴄᴄɪɴᴀᴛɪᴏɴs. He told the staff all about the special spot in his room he had set up for him, too. Jorgenson added: “He was so mindful of Shey’s special needs. Tristan is very mature for his age and asked a ton of questions.”

Seeing how ready for a dog the young boy was, it was a no-brainer — and the fact that he was so responsible about adopting a senior dog was just another plus. Now, Shey has a family who loves him for the sweet pup he is, and he’ll never have to go through being ᴀʙᴀɴᴅᴏɴᴇᴅ ever again. Tristan is showering the pup with love and affection and is making sure that all of Shey’s needs are met. Shey is lucky to have found such a wonderful family, and now the little pup can wake up feeling happy and safe every day of his life. Jorgenson said: “Shey is very content. Cuddling is his favorite thing in the world, and he snuggled right in with Tristan.”