When His Father Eventually Finds Him, The Lost Dog Celebrates For The First Time
The employees and volunteers at the Washington County-Johnson City Animal Shelter had been waiting for Roscoe to break out of his shell for nearly six months. The brown and white dog never grinned, never wagged his tail, and never let his guard down, no matter how many goodies they gave him.
“He was really shy and reticent the entire time he was here… Tammy Davis, the shelter’s director, told The Dodo, “It was like he didn’t have a personality.” “He wasn’t behaving like a dog at all.”
Roscoe had been living on the streets for years, relying on the generosity of others to feed him. Someone eventually complained about the stray dog running around, and Roscoe was taken to the shelter.
“He didn’t want to be consoled by us, he didn’t want to be touched — it was almost as if he was simply existing,” Davis explained. “No matter what we did, there was no passion or excitement.”
The team did all they could to gain Roscoe’s trust, but when nothing worked, they decided it was time to put him on their Facebook page. Roscoe’s life was permanently transformed by just one tiny deed.
“We all cared for him, and all we wanted to do was work with him and help him feel better,” Davis said. “We utilize social media more than we used to because of COVID, and we thought, ‘What the heck?’ We’re going to post him and just be honest, even though he’s not the most outgoing dog and it could be difficult to find him somewhere.’”
A response emerged on the shelter’s Facebook page shortly after the picture went public, saying, “I believe that’s my dog, and he’s been gone for three years.”
Davis was hesitant at first, but after receiving a photo of Roscoe with his distinguishing marks, she scheduled a meeting with the man to see whether Roscoe remembered him. Davis stated, “The rest of us moved aside and allowed the gentleman in there with Roscoe, and it was simply fantastic.” “It was like something snapped, and he was like, ‘This is my guy, my daddy,’” says the author.
“I never saw the dog wag his tail, never saw the dog leap up, and we were never allowed to love on him in the six months he was here,” Davis added. “So it was apparent that this was his owner; all it took was a few minutes for him to comprehend who it was, and then he knew right away.”
You can watch the touching reunion here:
Seeing the sorrowful dog grin for the first time was enough for the shelter workers to be grateful.
“When we can reconnect an animal with his original owner and watch this dog who had no personality and was so unhappy transform into a happy-go-lucky dog all of a sudden,” Davis said, “it gives us a lift to say, ‘OK, this is what we needed to give us strength and keep going forward.'”