A formerly homeless man has had an emotional reunion with the dog he had to surrender after falling on hard times.
“Wanting the best for her, he brought her to us in hopes that she'd find a better life,” they wrote.
Yet Dakota sat patiently at the shelter, waiting for an adoptive family, for weeks. Nobody came. Describing her as “wonderful and friendly,” shelter staffers were puzzled as to why she was being overlooked.
When a special call came in on April 27, they chalked it up to fate.
Hamilton had found a place to live and a new job and was calling with the slimmest sliver of hope that the shelter still had his beloved pet. Staffers were delighted to answer in the affirmative and reunite the two.
Upon meeting, said the shelter, Dakota “absolutely squealed with delight” and ran straight into Hamilton’s arms. Hamilton was moved to tears, and before long there wasn’t a dry eye in sight.
“[The] hardest thing I’ve ever had to do was give her up, and somehow nobody picked my angel,” he wrote.
Understanding that rebuilding his life will be a process, the shelter gifted Hamilton a brand-new leash and collar for Dakota, plus six months’ worth of preventative medication.
Hundreds left comments in support of the reunification, praising the shelter for helping out a man in need and the dog he loved the most.
“God has a way of working things out,” wrote one person.
“That’s the reason she didn’t get adopted!! There were bigger and better plans in the making for her!! How sweet!! So glad they were reunited!!” wrote another.
