A senior canine spent over two years in a shelter with hopes of being adopted fading fast, until one walk changed everything.
Bob the dog ended up in an animal shelter in Portugal through no fault of his own. “His owner had died,” Charlotte Simon told Newsweek. Once he was there, however, Bob struggled with the transition from a life of happiness and freedom in a loving home to the hustle and bustle of the kennels.
Two years passed, taking a toll on Bob in the process and worsening his chances of being adopted as a result. “He developed attachment anxiety,” Simon said. “Because of that and probably because he was already a bit older, he didn’t get many adoption requests. He had also already lost some teeth, and one of his ears was crippled.”
Bob bonded with another dog at the shelter during his time, but that too ended in heartbreak. “Before, he had a best friend in the shelter, but she got adopted before him. So he was left alone,” Simon said.
On the face of it, Bob’s story was shaping up to be a familiar one. According to a 2021 study published in the journal Animals, which looked at the most-common shared characteristics of long-term shelter dogs, they are often male, older and suffering with “behavioral problems.” But Bob’s story would soon take an unexpected turn.
Simon, who is from Berlin, was vacationing in the region and volunteering at the shelter. “I didn’t actually want to get a dog,” Simon said. “But the shelter asked for help with walking them. So I went.”
Even before she arrived, Simon had earmarked Bob as a dog she wanted to spend time with after seeing his picture on Instagram. “I had fallen in love with the picture. So I asked if I could walk him,” she said.
Simon began to have doubts, though, when they went to get Bob from his pen. “ He was just crazy,” she said, “constantly jumped up and down, barking and whimpering. But I took him for a walk anyway.”
Once they were outside the shelter, Simon saw a change in Bob. He calmed down and was affectionate, taking an interest in everything Simon showed him. “He was just desperate for a human connection,” she said. “I fell in love with him instantly. I just knew.”
That walk quickly turned into a weekend foster stay at the holiday house Simon was staying in. There, Bob’s remarkable transformation continued. “He was so well behaved,” Simon said. “I walked him off-leash at the beach, and he settled in like it was the most-normal thing in the world. After that weekend, there was no way I could ever give him back.”
Within the space of a few days, Simon had gone from not wanting a dog to adopting a senior. She has been documenting Bob’s idyllic new life back home with her in Germany ever since, with videos posted to TikTok under the handle @bob.the.senior.sh.
Simon hopes Bob’s story inspires others to take a chance on rescue canines, especially seniors. “It’s such a plus to adopt an older dog. You just really know who you will get. He has so much experience already,” she said. “I didn’t have to teach him much. But you can. Older dogs can still learn a lot.”
Now, Bob’s days are taken up by long walks, lots of petting and sleeping in every morning. All it took was one walk.
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