After being abandoned by his previous owners at a local animal shelter, Odie, the American Eskimo dog, is living his best life with his forever family, as seen in a viral video.
Earlier this year, Odie and another dog were surrendered to a shelter because their owners were moving, and they weren’t taking the canines with them. As an 8-year-old dog who wasn’t neutered and suffered from crippling anxiety, Odie’s chances of getting noticed were low. That was, until he caught the attention of Caroline Lapano, 31, who immediately fell in love with him.
Lapano, of Pennsylvania, told Newsweek that, a few days before Christmas last year, she sadly lost her pup Lulu, who was also an American Eskimo dog. She said losing her was “easily the worst thing” she has ever experienced, and she vowed that her next pup would be a rescue.
“We knew Lulu would choose one and send them to us when the time was right,” Lapano said.
That is precisely what happened, because, in February this year, Lapano came across a picture of Odie online and she knew it was meant to be.
“Before I even told my fiance, Zach, what I saw on the app, I sent an email to the shelter manager. She told me a little bit more about Odie and said we could come that weekend to meet him,” Lapano added.
“The next morning, we got in the car and drove to the shelter. One of the volunteers took us to a fenced area and let him out, and we just knew we weren’t leaving without him. We knew Lulu sent him to us; and turns out, he needed us just as much as we needed him.”
While it is thought that about 2 million canines get adopted each year, and 710,000 are returned to their owners, there are still millions more waiting to find a home.
When it comes to getting a dog, rescuing from a shelter or humane society is only the third most popular choice, with 23 percent of owners choosing to adopt. The most popular method of getting a canine addition to the family is through a breeder, at 34 percent.
The other dog who was abandoned at the shelter with Odie had already been adopted, but Lapano says that she wouldn’t have hesitated to take both.
Following his adoption, it has been wonderful to see Odie’s personality shine through and observe how much he has grown in confidence after finding a loving family to take care of him.
“Since we adopted Odie, he’s come out of his shell so much. We call him an old soul. He is the sweetest boy, I truly don’t know how anyone could have ever given this sweet boy up. He has some of the craziest zoomies, but he also just loves to snuggle up on the couch,” Lapano told Newsweek.
@odieandcaroline Now he knows what family actually means and we love him so much 🫶🏻 Your loss is our gain and his upgrade 🐾🐶 #rescuedog #shelterdog #trendingsong #furbaby #dogsoftiktok #creatorsearchinsights #hopeitgivesyouhell
There is no doubt that Odie is living his best life, and his owners love sharing his lavish lifestyle on TikTok (@odieandcaroline). A video showing Odie enjoying some time in the pool after “his upgrade” has delighted internet viewers, gaining more than 320,000 views and over 35,200 likes.
Lapano added that she didn’t intent to shame anyone for having to surrender a pet to a shelter, but, rather, to encourage more people to rescue and give pets a second chance at life.
Lapano said: “Zach and I are so grateful that Odie came into our life, and we’re so happy that we can give him the spoiled, happy life that he deserves.
“I hope more people will adopt because you’re really giving these dogs a new lease of life. They may not be a little puppy, they may have a back story, but they know you saved them.”