In Memphis, Tennessee, Oliver was discovered as a stray after he refused to leave a family’s property. He was being collected by animal control agents, but every time one of them approached him, he would leap over the fence and leave the yard, as though it were a game. Finally, a humane trap had to be put up in order to capture him, and he was then sent to Memphis Animal Services.
Oliver’s new shelter companions immediately recognized that he had probably once had a home or someone caring for him. He was extremely intelligent, adored food and treats, and was aware that if he paid attention and behaved well, he would be showered with them.
“I met him the first day he came in, and he sat for me immediately before I even showed him I had treats,” Katie Pemberton, community engagement specialist at Memphis Animal Services, told The Dodo. “Then, of course, as soon as the treats came out, he was even more eager to sit. The more he got to know me, the more he would press himself up against the bars of his kennels to let me pet him.”
Oliver loved food so much that he quickly became very attached to his food bowl — and started carrying it around with him wherever he went.
“The very first night he got here, our field supervisor passed by his kennel in our ACO intake room and noticed him with his bowl in his mouth,” Pemberton said. “His cute trick was very effective because she gave him more food! Then when he moved to his permanent kennel, he kept doing it. He had his bowl in his mouth most of the time.”
It’s possible that someone from his past taught Oliver to pick up his food bowl as a fun little trick. It’s also possible that he’d been without food at one point, and was worried if he lost sight of his food bowl, he might not get fed again.
Because of Oliver’s bowl fixation, he attracted a lot of attention and eventually had his forever family come to claim him.
On April 16, Oliver was adopted and left for his new family’s house. Oliver was ecstatic to learn that his food bowl was traveling with him.
Thanks to his cute, quirky habit, Oliver now has the best new home, where he’ll never have to worry about being hungry again.
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