Seven years ago, Mitch the hound dog arrived at a North Carolina animal shelter “thin and terrified.”
But thanks in part to a now-viral video posted to the shelter’s social media channels, Mitch has finally found a place to spend his senior years.
“The Cashiers-Highland Humane Society in Sapphire, North Carolina, took Mitch in as a stray in 2016,” Fox 11 Los Angeles reports. “The treeing walker hound dog was scared of humans, but after a lot of love and care, he eventually learned to trust people.”
Representatives with the shelter told Fox 11 that despite multiples appearances across local media, Mitch was frequently overlooked because of his shy disposition. Mitch takes “a little time to warm up to new people” but once he does he’s a “sweet and affectionate” dog, shelter workers explained.
“Recently, the shelter posted an emotional video of Mitch on Facebook and TikTok, asking for someone to step up and provide a home for the 11-year-old hound,” Fox 11′s staff reporters write. David Stroud, the shelter’s executive director, said that a woman who follows the shelter on Facebook had seen posts about Mitch in the past but the video “convinced her to give Mitch a forever home.”
@ch_humanesociety Mitch is our longest term resident, and we’re all hoping this sweet boy finds a warm safe home to spend his senior years in. If you think you might be Mitch’s forever human we hope you give us a call. ❤️ #animalshelter #northcarolina #dog #adoptabledogs #adoptadog #seniordog #animaladoption ♬ Emotional Piano Instrumental In E Minor – Tom Bailey Backing Tracks
“I cried when I watched it the first time,” Fox 11 says Mitch’s new owner, Teresa Shular, told WLOS. “I cried when I watched it the second time. I thought about it and prayed about it for a few days.”
Shular said that so far, Mitch seems to enjoy “lying around on the porch.”
She added, “I’ve had it said to me by several people, ‘Why would you go get a dog that age just for it to die on you?’ And I said, ‘so he can have a home beforehand.’
“It’s not about me, it’s about Mitch.”
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