Big Mac came to the McKamey Animal Center in Chattanooga, Tennessee, with the knowledge that he would have a difficult time finding a family. The huge dog was apprehensive around new people and was struggling in the shelter.
“We’re not sure what his living environment was like before to coming to us, but it was very clear that he didn’t trust everyone straight away,” Lauren Mann, the shelter’s advancement manager, said. “He warmed up with goodies and in the play yard when he got out of the crate.”
Big Mac was surrendered by his owner in December of last year because they “didn’t have time for him and they were relocating,” according to Mann. The shelter needed someone patient and loving who could convince the abandoned dog that people weren’t so horrible.
But time passed, and Big Mac soon became the shelter’s longest-staying tenant.
Then, 260 days later, a miracle happened — Big Mac walked out the door of McKamey Animal Center forever.
One of the shelter volunteers had agreed to foster him in her home and fell in love with the once-fearful dog, deciding to make him a permanent part of her family.
“When my coworker took him in to foster, she said the first night he slept, like, 12 hours straight, and just really opened up and wanted to play with her other dog and even wanted to play with the cats,” Mann said. “[He] really made a 180 and was a great dog overall.”
Mac was even taught to trust again by the shelter worker’s dog.
“Her resident dog took him under his wing, and if they went on a stroll and he was a bit nervous, her dog would be like, ‘No, it’s OK,'” Mann explained. “And he’d teach him that everything was OK and that people could be trusted.”
Mann and her crew wanted to do something special to honor Big Mac’s last departure from the shelter to go home with his new mom.
The shelter staff gathered together at the entrance to give the longest resident a standing ovation as he walked out of the building for the last time.
You can watch the adorable video here:
“His new mom was surprised that he handled it so well, which shows that he’s doing a lot better with stranger danger,” Mann said. “He was just ready to go … he didn’t really care about treats or pets or anything. He was just ready to go home.”
Now, Big Mac is part of a loving home and has a new family who will never leave his side.
0 Comments