A heartbreaking viral video finally has a happy ending: a lonely pit bull who everyone passed by in a shelter has now found his forever home.
Rocky, a five-year-old American Pit Bull Terrier mix, spent a year in the care of the Humane Society for Hamilton County, in Indiana.
Despite all their efforts to find Rocky a loving new home, and despite the fact that he was a good dog with a lot of love to give, they could never find the right family — and people would always pass Rocky by.
A heartbreaking video shows a time lapse of people walking by Rocky’s kennel: while the poor dog is eager to meet some humans and excitedly approaches each passerby, everyone just walks right by without even considering him:
The video is a sad reminder of how much dogs just want to be loved, but are often ignored. Pit bulls are the most common dog breeds found in shelters, often passed by due to stereotypes about their behavior.
It’s true that Rocky needed a certain kind of home — one where everyone is over 16 and where he could be the only pet — and he’s not the right dog for everyone, but it’s still heartbreaking to watch so many people ignore him.
“Rocky has been waiting for his forever home for almost a year and doesn’t understand why he’s still here,” the shelter wrote.
The video struck a nerve with viewers: it went viral with over 5.2 million views on Facebook since it was posted on March 20.
But even after Rocky went viral and touched people’s hearts, he didn’t get adopted right away.
“Rocky so far has not even had a single person come and visit him,” the shelter reported on March 22. “He has some people fill out applications but not a single person has come into the shelter to see him yet and honestly, we don’t know why.”
“He’s such a good boy. Honestly all he needs is someone to love him and cuddle him.”
But over a month later, the Humane Society shared an update, saying that Rocky was “jumping for joy” after an “extended sleepover” with a potential adopter.
Finally, two months after sharing the heartbreaking video, the shelter shared an inspiring final update.
On May 20, they included Rocky in their post of recently-adopted dogs, with a photo of the dog with a huge smile on his face.
It seems the sleepover went well, and Rocky finally found someone perfect to give him a loving forever home. His days of waiting around while people pass him by are finally over.
We’re so glad Rocky finally has a home! Share this amazing news!
We Love Animals is now on Instagram! Follow us today for lots of adorable animal pics and great stories!
