Although there are many people out there who are passionate about helping animals in need, the fact remains that there aren’t always enough loving homes to go around.
And since those who do adopt are looking for an animal who can be their friend for years to come, we can often expect at least a few creatures to slip through the cracks when adopters come calling.
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And as you might have guessed, many of them are either old or saddled with some serious illnesses that make long-term companionship unlikely. But we can also find that some just seem to be unlucky.
That once described one dog who was jilted on Valentine’s Day for reasons nobody can really explain, but it seems that his lonely days are finally over.
By the time February rolled around this year, a 5-year-old dog named Luke had been at the Battersea Brands Hatch shelter in Kent, England for over 200 days.
According to People , this fact led the shelter to host a Valentine’s Day-themed adoption party for him, where they fitted him with a “free kisses” bandana.
Despite how adorable this sounds, however, it couldn’t have gone worse for poor Luke.
That’s because for one reason or another, nobody showed up to this party, leaving Luke completely stood up as a result.
And while we had previously mentioned that the Battersea staff gave him a lot of love and affection to make up for these disappointing results, they also worried about the likelihood that Luke would ever find a home.
However, it seems they wouldn’t have to worry for long as Luke’s story resonated with people all over the world.
As People reported, fans sent Battersea a deluge of mail that included toys, handwritten love notes, donations, and offers to adopt him themselves.
Among his new fans were Karl and Jill Kendrick of Derbyshire, who made their own inquiries into the possibility that Luke could join their family.
And after staff heard enough about the couple and their two daughters, they decided that the household seemed like a promising candidate for the dog.
And so after 225 days spent living at the Battersea shelter, Luke finally found what is shaping up to be the perfect forever home.
As Kendrick put it, “How Luke stayed in the care of Battersea for so long is a mystery to me, any new owner would have been lucky to rehome him.”
At this point, he’s been living with the Kendricks for weeks and is acclimating so well that he’s already found his favorite places in the house to nap.
In Kendrick’s words, “We feel so lucky to be the family who gives Luke his forever home, and he has really made our family unit complete. He’ll never spend Valentine’s Day alone again.”
h/t: People
