Every person Joey meets falls in love with him right away because he is so unique. The 5-year-old pit bull mix should not have to spend more than 500 days at a shelter, but that is exactly what happened—and it was entirely out of his control.
The adorable dog quickly won over the entire crew, so when Joey’s forever family showed up to whisk him away to the life of his dreams, they knew they had to send him farewell in the grandest manner imaginable.
According to Kimberly LaRussa, founder of Sweet Buffalo to the Rescue, “The staff always wanted to make sure the shelter dogs knew how loved they were, so a special send-off was started by us so the dogs knew how much they meant to us and to make them feel happy about going to their new home.”
The departing celebration needs to be especially memorable for one of their longest residents.
“We wanted to give Joey a relaxing and calm send-off, so we thought we could put some leis on him as a sign of friendship and give him treats,” LaRussa added. “It was really beautiful to see him with all the lies he accumulated towards the end of the send-off.”
Joey’s touching departure can be seen here:
Nobody anticipated that Joey, a former stray, would still be in the shelter more than a year later. But because no one was interested in adopting him, he was passed over, and Joey became impatient.
“[He] adjusted the best he could,” according to LaRussa. “He was very much loved by the former staff and volunteers. But as time went on, we could tell he longed for something more than we could give him … a nice warm bed, cuddles at night, his own people to love him.”
When LaRussa noticed the dejected puppy whimpering in his kennel and appearing helpless, she decided to intervene on her behalf by making a small video of Joey and posting it on social media. The interest exploded all at once. Daryl Koczaja and Melissa Leuer, a distinctive couple were happy.
Leuer recalled, “I remember watching his videos over and over while crying and thinking to myself, ‘Someone needs to help this poor baby. Little did I know, it would be us.”
There was an instant connection between Joey and the prospective adopters when LaRussa arranged a meet and greet.
“The moment we all met, we were in love — he was such a sweetheart!” Leuer said. “He ran straight to Daryl and gave him tons of kisses. We just felt like he was meant to be with us like he was waiting there the whole time till we were ready for him.”
Although it took Joey a few days to adjust to his new life, he is now the biggest cuddle bug and always smiles when he sees them.
“Joey is still just as wonderful as the day we adopted him,” Leuer said. “[He’s] brought so much laughter and happiness into our house. We look forward to making many more memories with him and giving him the perfect life he has always deserved. We truly couldn’t ask for a better dog!”
Source: The Dodo
