This is Mr. Pugsley — a misunderstood shelter dog who’s waited over seven months for a home. As lovable as Mr. Pugsley is, the sweet guy has hardly experienced life outside of Stray Rescue of St. Louis (SRSL).
But that all changed a few days ago.
Recently, Mr. Pugsley broke out of the shelter for a weekend thanks to a new foster care program, and his reaction to sleeping in a human bed for the first time is melting everybody’s hearts.
Mr. Pugsley joined the SRSL family back in January after a local resident found the pup sitting at the end of his driveway.
“The dog had just sort of shown up,” Donna Lochmann, SRSL’s chief life saving officer, told The Dodo. “The man was worried about him, so he called us, and we took him in.”
From the moment Mr. Pugsley trotted through SRSL’s doors, he became a shelter favorite.
“He’s just a big goofball,” Lochmann said. “I honestly couldn’t tell you why he’s been at the shelter so long.”
The sweet boy’s rambunctious spirit won over SRSL’s staff instantly. But for some reason, potential adopters didn’t feel the same way.
Mr. Pugsley spent seven months alone in the shelter, wondering when a family would take a chance on him. Days passed, and his sheltermates got adopted, but Mr. Pugsley stayed behind.
Then, SRSL introduced a new weekend foster program called Rovernights. With Rovernights, dog lovers who might not be ready to foster full-time or adopt can still spend time with a shelter pup.
For the span of a weekend, they can choose to bring a dog home and love on him as if he were their own.
“Some animals have actually stayed as permanent fosters, some have been adopted and some actually stay just a few nights then come back to the shelter,” Lochmann said. “But it’s nice to get them out and get them some time away from the shelter.”
And that’s just what Mr. Pugsley got to do.
The sweet boy was recently picked for a weekend stay with a foster, and he had the time of his life.
Some dogs might spend their Rovernights playing nonstop with their new friends, but Mr. Pugsley had a different plan. As soon as the sweet boy jumped up on his foster’s bed, he curled up and drifted off to sleep.
“Mr. Pugsley and I snuggled for about 12 hours straight last night,” Mr. Pugsley’s foster shared in a Facebook post. “What a lover.”
Mr. Pugsley spent most of his foster weekend soaking up the silence of his new home and the comfiness of his new bed. A few days later, he headed back to the shelter to continue his search for a forever family.
The sweet boy is still on the hunt for an adoptive family, and Lochmann hopes it won’t take too much longer to find them.
In the meantime, Mr. Pugsley continues to light up SRSL’s halls with his lively spirit.
“He’s a happy-go-lucky guy,” Lochmann said. “He’s always got that big pittie smile.”