Sure, some dogs have it worse, but this sweet boy spent 6.5 years being passed over at his shelter before finally being adopted.
6 years, 6 months, 1 week, and 1 day, to be exact – 2,381 days of not having a home to call his own.
Fortunately, he did have shelter workers who loved and cared for him and who never gave up on him.
Leslie Renner, the executive director of The Humane Society of Preble County in Ohio, which housed Higgins for all that time, recalls being asked frequently why she didn’t just put the dog to sleep.
Luckily, Renner had a soft spot for Higgins, who grew to be a senior dog under her care – she seemed to know in her heart that he would eventually find a forever home and bring joy to someone’s life.
Renner told The Dodo that Higgins first came to the shelter as a puppy and was immediately adopted – after all, people are always looking for dogs younger than 6 months.
Sadly, he returned as a stray a year later after someone found him on the streets after being neglected and chained to a dog house.
“Nobody ever came looking for him,” she said, “nobody ever cared.”
The saddest part is that if Higgins had found a caring owner and someone who knew how to train a puppy, his life would have been different. But after his initial adoption, he was a bit of a loner.
Shelter workers took to Facebook to try to find him a home, describing him as sweet, smart, and loving but mentioning that he would need to be an only pet and that it would probably take a few visits for him to warm up to new humans.
But as months turned into years, Higgins’ chances of being chosen decreased. Potential adopters assumed something was wrong with him since he had been there so long. (And while that can be a concern, typically shelters are as honest as possible about the animals they home because they don’t want to see them returned!)
Renner said he didn’t always put on the best show for people either:
“His face always had such a worried look on it that he was a little intimidating when he was in his kennel. People just walked past him.”
But one day the unthinkable happened. Renner said a young man walked into the shelter and said: “I’m here to take Higgins home.”
Brendon Reed had just bought his first home and wanted a dog. He had seen Higgins’ photo online and read the pup’s sad story and knew it was a match made in heaven.
“He was just a beautiful dog,” Reed told The Dodo. “He just seemed so cute … I don’t know how he didn’t get adopted.”
Reed even sent in an update about Higgins to the Humane Society Facebook page.
“I didn’t realize how many of you were following Higgins’ story so I want to keep you updated:
For those of you wanting to keep tabs on Higgins new luxurious life, follow him on Snapchat @higginsdoggo”
In an interview with local news station WDTN Reed expressed his surprise that Higgins had been passed up for so long, saying he was “such a sweet dog.” And Reed was prepared for the adjustment phase:
“I work for a felony re-entry organization, and we’re all about giving guys a second chance who haven’t gotten that from normal society.”
Reed also mentioned that his family had been adopting dogs from the Humane Society of Preble County for generations:
“My grandpa used to volunteer there, just play with the little dogs and everything. And my mom and dad went there and they adopted two dogs from there. I think they both had been there two or three years.”
Higgins has adjusted well to his new home and enjoys running around his spacious fenced yard as well as relaxing on the couch in his spare time.
