Meet Martin — a senior shelter dog who desperately needed a home after his elderly family surrendered him.
Martin was around 10 years old when he arrived at SPCA of Wake County. His dad loved him so much, but he just couldn’t care for Martin anymore.
“He adjusted pretty well,” Ranlet said. “I don’t know if he understood what was going on, but even from day one, he was just this happy, easy-going, really sweet old man with a teddy bear face.”
Because of Martin’s age, however, the task of finding a suitable adopter turned out to be harder than expected.
“He kept getting passed over again and again,” Ranlet said. “In two months, seven adoptions fell through for various reasons.”
Martin’s age wasn’t the only factor affecting his adoption, though. He was also heartworm positive, which made potential adopters wary.
The couple took Martin home, where he’s been for a few weeks. His adoption isn’t finalized yet, since he’s still receiving heartworm treatment at SPCA of Wake County on the weekends, but it will be soon.
“As soon as he completes his treatment, they’re going to make the adoption official,” Ranlet said. “He’s got another month or two ahead of him.”
Even though they get to see him during his regular heartworm visits, SPCA staff miss Martin every day. But they are so excited that he found the perfect home against all odds, and hope that his story will inspire others to adopt older pups.
“It’s nice to give more attention to senior dogs,” Ranlet said. “It helps remind people that they’re worthwhile to adopt, too.”