A senior Chihuahua named Scooter was given a second chance to have a family after his previous owner passed away.
Suddenly, Scooter’s life took a 360-degree turn. Instead of being in the home that he came to know for several years, the elderly dog found himself in a shelter for homeless animals.
With no one to tuck him in at night, the dog had no choice but to do it himself. Before he goes to sleep, Scooter tucks himself in under his blue star-decorated blanket.
But even if more than half of his body is under the covers, the evident look of worry and sadness on his face is undeniable.
The shelter staff knows that Scooter is one sweet dog, but they had doubts about whether potential adopters would be interested in giving him a second chance to have a permanent home given his advanced age.
Jan Nageldinger, the shelter manager at the Humane Society of Branch County, said that Scooter was 12 years old and had an old hip injury. These factors led her to think that the Chihuahua might spend the rest of her golden years in the shelter.
But when she shared a photo of Scooter with his pointy ears under his blue cozy blanket, all these doubts were erased.
People across the country and even from other parts of the world began writing to the shelter offering to take the pup in. One of these animal lovers was Jessica Lynn Howard, who previously adopted two other Chihuahuas from the shelter.
“I saw Jan’s Facebook post, along with the rest of the world. My husband Tim and I were lying in bed and it … brought me to tears. Without hesitation, I showed Tim and I said, ‘I have to go get him.'” Jessica told The Dodo.
Without even blinking, Tim told her: “Go get him.”
The next morning, Jessica drove three hours to Michigan to pick the dog up and bring him home.
“When we arrived home Scooter met his new pack and family immediately. It was amazing everyone greeted him as if he was a long lost friend of theirs; they truly acted as if he had always been here,” Jessica said about the adopted dog’s first day at home.
For sure, Scooter would never feel alone from now on because aside from his parents, he has Jessica’s five other dogs to hang out with!
“We have Jax (formally known as Nemo), a Chihuahua we adopted from Branch County, Hank (formally known as Little Henry), a Chihuahua/heeler mix we also adopted from Branch County, BabyFace, another Chihuahua that belonged to my husband before we were married, and two heelers, Spur and Waylon,” Jessica shared.
The couple lives in on a big farm so they can easily accommodate their pack of tiny dogs.
Since arriving at his new home, Jessica said that Scooter’s personality has started to shine through. But some things never change indeed – the Chihuahua still loves his blanket as much as he did before.
“When it’s bedtime … he still ‘tucks himself in. I’ve tried to tuck him in but he would rather do it himself. He has to get the covers just right. It’s really cute watching him,” Jessica said.
Aside from getting a second chance to have a family, a greater thing that came out of Scooter’s adoption was the inspiration it sparked on people from all over the world to welcome senior dogs like him into their homes.
“The good thing that came from this story was that people from … Italy, Puerto Rico, Canada and many, many, many states across the U.S. contacted us … willing to take in Scooter,” Jan said.
“When Scooter had been adopted many of these people said that they were going to go to their local shelter and adopt a senior dog. So Scooter not only saved himself; I really believe that he saved the lives of other dogs all across the U.S. with his story.”
We’re so glad that Scooter got the happy ending that he deserves! Hopefully, more dogs like him get theirs, too.