Even with the understanding that there are often more animals in shelters than there are people equipped or willing to adopt them, it can still be a little baffling as to how some dogs and cats can be so unlucky.
It would be more understandable if the animals in question were old or showing problem behavior, but it’s not that unusual to hear stories of perfectly friendly dogs being passed over for months or even years at a time. And it’s doubly strange and sad when it seems like that unfortunate critter is about to be adopted only for the family to flake out at the last minute.
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But of course, that only makes it all the sweeter when the strangely unwanted critters finally do find their forever homes and that day finally came for one dog who’s been at her shelter for longer than anyone would have expected.
At the age of seven, a dog named Janice was brought to the Columbiana County Dog Pound in Lisbon, Ohio.
And since the staff watching over her described her to People as “very friendly with people, but not overly needy,” they figured it wouldn’t take long before she found someone willing to adopt her.
But as time passed and opportunities fell through, the shelter’s staff found that this would be harder than they anticipated.
As a representative put it, “No other dog has ever spent as much time at our shelter as Janice, even dogs that have been housed for court cases before they could be placed for adoption. 2 years. Let that sink in.”
Multiple meet-and-greets with potential adopters were arranged in that time, but they always had a way of falling through.
Sometimes it was because a family changed their minds, sometimes they didn’t show up at all, and one case saw a family that would’ve liked her needing about two weeks before they were ready to take her in. Since they didn’t want to mess up anyone else’s chance to adopt her, they let her go.
In the words of the pound’s representative, “Time after time, she has watched her fellow
pound dogs be adopted, yet she is passed over every time for one reason or another.”
However, it seems that Janice’s run of bad luck has finally ended as a couple appeared to fall in love as soon as they saw her.
As the pound’s representative wrote on Facebook, they had been thinking of getting a dog for a while before seeing Janice’s story on the news and immediately deciding she was the dog for them.
After finalizing their decision on April 15, they brought her home two days later.
And from the sounds of it, Janice couldn’t have asked for a better household to come home to.
As the pound’s spokesperson put it, “Things have a way of falling together when it’s meant to be and this is a match made in heaven! These folks are so kind and so sweet. Janice absolutely LOOOOVES and adores them both.”
They also thanked everyone who shared Janice’s story as it’s possible that the couple never would have known about her if her supporters hadn’t created so much buzz on her behalf.
h/t: People
