“He is such a big, lovely, dorky gentleman.”
Even though Zeke’s life hasn’t been easy, the young dog can’t help but smile.
And his unique, crooked grin has won the hearts of the staff at The NOAH Center in Stanwood, Washington.
“I cannot express how lovely he is,” Katrina Wedin, dog care coordinator with The NOAH Center, told The Dodo. “Zeke, beyond all else, is people-oriented and loves to have attention and interaction with people.”
“He now has a massive fan club at our shelter — staff and volunteers included,” she added. “He wants to be as close to you as possible. If you go into his suite at the shelter, the first thing he wants to do is lean and sit in your lap. Even though he’s a large dog, he does truly believe that he’s a lap dog.”
Zeke first came to the shelter in January as a seven-month-old ball of energy. A vet examination determined that his twisted face was due to a birth defect, but the snaggletooth doesn’t bother him.
“He had to have some corrective dental surgeries,” Wedin said. “But it otherwise does not affect his day-to-day life in the slightest!”
After a few months in the shelter, Zeke got adopted. But when his family fell on hard times, he wound up in the shelter once again. Now, Zeke is starting his search for a forever home all over again, and the shelter staff is hoping that his lopsided smile will touch somebody’s heart.
“He is such a big, lovely, dorky gentleman with a face that no one can help but fall in love with,” Wedin said.
So far, there has been little interest in Zeke, partially due to the fact that he will likely need some more surgeries as he ages to make sure that his deformity doesn’t bother him. But the sweet and loving dog is still holding out hope that the right adopter will come along and give him the care and attention he deserves.
“He is a lovely, goofy man who desperately wants to be loved and be loyal to a forever person,” Wedin said.
While he waits, Zeke’s happy to run around, snuggle his caregivers and continue to smile his sweet, crooked smile.