A lonely, abandoned golden retriever mix had taken to living in a Walmart parking lot in rural Georgia. Although his owners knew of his whereabouts from locals, who told them more than once, they said they didn’t want him.
He was flea-ridden, his fur matted, but more than anything else, the dog, who was later named Clarence, was sad.
Which is probably why when a group of caring rescuers finally picked him up, they found that this poor pooch was incredibly loving and in need of affection.
What else did they notice? Clarence could not stop hugging almost every human he met.
“Clarence had been palling around with her. People said that they had seen them together in the Walmart parking lot,” the rescue’s founder Cat Suzuki told The Epoch Times. “So when we got the German shepherd to safety, we had somebody go back to see if Clarence was there.”
But Clarence had already wound up at an animal control shelter. They contacted Cat and asked, “Do you want him?” “And we obviously agreed to take him,” Cat explained.
They gave him a name: Clarence.
And Clarence was quick to attach himself to people, Cat noted, and was “very sweet.” He was heavily matted; although he had a ton of fur, he was very skinny under there, and covered with fleas.
Clarence is around 5 years old and generally healthy, so he didn’t need much vet care. Yet he was extremely lonely from neglect, which was evident to all who witnessed the poor abandoned pet.
“He needed to be vetted and neutered and all that kind of stuff,” said Cat. “But really, I think the biggest thing with Clarence was the emotional toll that it took on him, because he is very connected with humans, and you could tell he was lonely.”
He needed the standard vetting and deworming but didn’t have any major physical health issues otherwise. “His issues were more mental,” Cat added. “You could see he was sad.”
Nevertheless, Clarence’s loving personality shone through, and he bonded instantly with his new carers at Hounds in Pounds. Moreover, he became a bit famous for his most remarkable display of affection toward people in general: hugging them with his paw.
“He does that to everybody,“ said Cat. ”As soon as he meets you and he likes you, he wraps his paw around your leg, he just wants to be close to you.”
The rescue has since contacted Clarence’s owners, and they said that that don’t want him back. Cat explained that some dogs take shelter life better than others, and lonely Clarence “did not want to be left again.”
The adoring pooch hasn’t yet found a forever home, but they’re looking for takers in the New York or New Jersey areas. Cat shared that he will make a dear and loyal companion for whomever adopts.
“Whatever you’re doing, he wants to do it as long as he’s with right next to you,” she added. "If you’re cooking in the kitchen, he‘ll sit next to you while you cook in the kitchen. If you’re watching TV, if you’re working in your office, he’ll sit next to you.
“He just wants to be next to you and part of your life and to be loved. He’s very sweet.”
