The thing that most distinguishes Orville is his smile. The pit bull mix, who is 2 years old, has a broad smile that becomes bigger everytime someone comes close to his kennel at the White County Animal Shelter.
Alex Dulaney, a volunteer at the White County Animal Shelter, told The Dodo that when you approach his enclosure with the leash, “he gets that big grin.” “He’s all about that smile when you take him outdoors and get his favorite toy. It’s a very lovely, distinctive smile.
But for a reason Dulaney and the staff at the White County Animal Shelter can’t understand, Orville hasn’t been adopted. He’s now been at the shelter for 437 days, making him the shelter’s longest-staying resident.
Orville came into the shelter in January last year after getting picked up as a stray in Sparta, Tennessee. “We got a call about a dog roaming the neighborhood, and so an animal control officer went out to pick him up,” Dulaney said.
When Orville was just a year old, everyone assumed he would find a home soon since, according to Dulaney, the majority of dogs sent into the White County Animal Shelter are adopted within a month.
Orville, however, had no such success.
“I guess a lot of people overlook him because he is part pit bull, and there’s just so many other dogs that people look at, like German shepherds,” Dulaney said. “He’s got a great personality, but there’s only been like two people, maybe if that, who have even looked at him.”
Dulaney continued, “I think he feels this is his home now. He is essentially ignorant of everything else. He probably wouldn’t even recognize a couch.
Orville has also watched his friends get adopted, including Sachi, the dog who used to live in the kennel next to him.
“They loved to play together,” Dulaney said. “They’d run around and do all these little zoomies and stuff, but when she left, he’s just not had that kind of bond with anyone lately.”
Orville hasn’t had much luck, but the staff at the shelter isn’t going to give up on him. Dulaney clarified that all Orville requires is for someone to take a risk on him.
Dulaney stated, “He’s clearly become one of the staff favorites, and we’re all waiting for his opportunity. He’s a really wonderful dog.
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