For 720 days, a scruffy little dog named Charlie had sat in his kennel at the local animal shelter, watching
countless other dogs come and go. He’d seen puppies get adopted almost immediately, and older dogs find new homes after just a few days. But for Charlie, there was nothing but rejection.
It wasn’t that Charlie was a bad dog. In fact, he was one of the sweetest, most loyal dogs at the shelter. He loved to play and cuddle with the staff, and was always eager to make new friends. But there was something about him that just didn’t seem to click with potential adopters.
Maybe it was his scruffy coat, or his mismatched eyes, or the way he barked a little too loudly when he got excited. Whatever it was, it seemed to turn people off. Day after day, Charlie watched as families came and went, always leaving without him.
At first, Charlie was hopeful. He’d wag his tail and run to the front of his kennel whenever someone approached. He’d nuzzle their hand and give them his best puppy-dog eyes,
hoping that this would be the person who would take him home. But as the days turned into weeks, and the weeks turned into months, Charlie’s hope began to fade.
He stopped wagging his tail when he saw people coming. He stopped running to the front of his kennel. He stopped trying to make new friends. Instead, he sat in the back of his kennel, watching the world go by with a sad expression on his face.
720 days is a long time for anyone to be alone, and for a dog like Charlie, it was an eternity. He watched as other dogs came and went, making new friends and finding new homes, while he sat alone in his sorrowful corner of the shelter.
But one day, something changed. A family came into the shelter looking for a dog to adopt. They walked past all the other kennels, looking at each dog in turn, but Charlie didn’t even bother to get up. He’d seen it all before, and he didn’t want to get his hopes up again.
But then something amazing happened. The family stopped in front of his kennel, and the little girl who was with them pressed her face up against the bars to get a better look. Charlie lifted his head and looked at her with his mismatched eyes, and for the first time in a long time, he felt a glimmer of hope.
The family took Charlie out into the play yard and spent some time getting to know him. They played fetch with him, and rubbed his belly, and gave him treats. And Charlie, who had been so sad and withdrawn for so long, suddenly came to life. He wagged his tail, and barked happily, and ran around like a puppy.
In the end, the family decided to adopt Charlie. They took him home that same day, and gave him a new bed, and toys, and all the love and attention he’d been missing for so long. And Charlie, who had spent 720 days sitting alone in a sorrowful corner of the shelter, finally found the home he’d been waiting for.
Watch the video below:
