“After 444 days, this pup found his fur- ever home!”
The good-natured pit-terrier mix named Max had languished in the shelter for over a year when director Stacie Haynes came up with a plan to find him a new home…and it was paws-itively brilliant!
We’ve let you down, Max, but that’s going to change,” Susquehanna SPCA Executive Director Stacie Haynes promised the 5-year-old pit-terrier mix.
Max was the best-behaved rescue at the Cooperstown, New York, shelter. He never barked or growled at the other dogs. He loved his walks and cuddle time with volunteers. And he greeted every potential adopter with a wagging tail. Yet, after 444 days, he was still waiting for his fur-ever family. When a new staffer commented in surprise about his lengthy stay, Stacie’s heart flooded with sadness and guilt.
“We have to do something,” she told her staff.
“Let’s dress him up—that always gets attention,” one volunteer suggested.
That’s when the idea struck. Her first job out of grad school, Stacie had worked with disabled adults. New employees had to spend their first day confined to a wheelchair or blindfolded with a white cane to broaden their perspectives.
“What if Max and I switched places for a day,” she proposed. “I’ll sit in his crate, and he can sit in my office and be acting director.”
On the day of the turnabout, Stacie led
Max, dressed in a business tie, into her office, where he happily settled in, ready to get to work accepting treats and belly rubs. And he got many.
Potential adopters laughed seeing Stacie in the kennel and had to pop in to see Max on the job. But at the end of the day, Max was still a shelter resident. Stacie flooded with disappointment. “We’ll think of something else,” she told Max. But as it turned out, there was no need to.
When the TV news aired a story about the swap, it not only caught Moravia, New York, 72-year-old Ed Panus’ attention, Max instantly captured his heart.
“He looks just like Buddy,” Ed marveled.
Buddy was Ed’s beloved American Bully. The two had been inseparable until the day Buddy had died a year earlier. There was still a huge hole in Ed’s heart—plenty of room for a new best buddy, he decided, and called the shelter.
The minute Max spotted Ed his tail started wagging. “You’re a friendly little guy,” Ed smiled, and outside, when Ed tossed Max’s ball, he dashed after it and dropped it at Ed’s feet.
“I think I just found a new best friend,” Ed told Stacie.
“It looks like they’ve been together for years,” Stacie told her staff as Ed and Max crossed the parking lot.
A week later, Stacie and some of her staff made a rare home visit. They marveled at how Max never left Ed’s side.
“We’re a lucky pair of rescues,” Ed grinned.
Stacie smiled. “Max is lucky to have found you,” she said. “When they say good things come to those who wait, they must mean dogs too.”