For a senior chihuahua named Scooter, everything in his life changed when his person passed away.
Suddenly, instead of being in the only home he’d ever known, he was in a shelter for homeless animals.
Every night, to comfort himself, Scooter would pull up a dark blue blanket with white stars over his shivering little body, tucking himself in.
The only thing that stuck out of the little bundle he’d made for himself was Scooter’s worried little face and his cute painted ears, standing up sharply at attention.
And although they could see how sweet and handsome the little guy was, most of the shelter’s staff had doubts about whether potential adopters would have much interest in Scooter.
“Scooter was 12 years old and had an old hip injury,” Jan Nageldinger, shelter manager at the Humane Society of Branch County, a no-kill shelter in Michigan, told The Dodo. She explained that she had thought Scooter might even have to live the rest of his life at the shelter. “But we had the space … We never turn them away.”
But after the shelter shared a photo of Scooter tucked in under his blue blanket, things quickly changed.
Soon people from all around the world started writing to the shelter offering to give Scooter a home. Jessica Lynn Howard, who had previously adopted two other chihuahuas from the same shelter in the past, was one of those people.
“I saw Jan’s Facebook post, along with the rest of the world,” Howard told The Dodo. “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.'”
But Tim did not need more than a second to think about it. “Go get him, ” he said.
So first thing in the morning, Howard jumped in his car and drove three hours to the shelter to pick up Scooter and take him home.
“When we arrived home Scooter met his new pack and family immediately,” Howard said. “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.”
The Howards also happen to live on a farm, which means they can easily accommodate their pack of six dogs, which now includes Scooter.
“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,” Howard said.
And since he arrived at his happy new forever home, Scooter’s personality has really started to shine through.
“He is super funny and acts goofy. He plays around like he’s a 2-year-old sometimes,” Howard said. But he’s also “all about taking naps — with his blankie, of course. He absolutely loves my husband Tim and our son Braden. Our daughter Dalanie has a soft spot for him, too. He is beyond loved and maybe a little spoiled, too.”
And Scooter absolutely loves practicing his old bedtime routine.
“When it’s bedtime … he still ‘tucks himself in,'” Howard said. “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.”
Best of all, thanks to Scooter’s happy adoption story, other folks have been inspired to give senior pets a chance.
“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,” Nageldinger 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.”
Howard hopes that Scooter’s story will continue to highlight the need for loving homes for other senior pets out there who are often overlooked and forgotten.
“That picture [of Scooter in the shelter tucking himself in] represented all the millions of animals awaiting homes in shelters everywhere,” Howard said. “Scooter, lying there on that cot, was once someone’s beloved pet.”
“If Scooter’s story can help inspire someone to adopt or to donate to the Humane Society of Branch County or their local shelter,” Howard added, “it shows what one little senior dog can do. He moved an entire world with just a single post! That is beyond amazing.”
Do you have any experiences adopting a senior pet? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section, and please be sure to share Scooter story with your friends and family.