A dog named Goose gained a reputation at a shelter due to his unusually loud bark — but when an old familiar face came into the shelter, he went silent.
Goose, a purebred Blue tick hound, was taken in by the North Carolina shelter Adopt-An-ANGEL last year. They quickly realized that Goose had an unusually loud, howl-like bark.
“He’s got a hound bark that could seriously win contests,” shelter director Jill Jones told The Dodo.
Shelter staff speculated that he howled so loudly out of a fear of abandonment — understandably, as he’s been left homeless three times in the past three years: He was given up by his first family as a puppy because he had “some tussels” with their other dog, and because they had a baby born with a rare skin disorder, the shelter wrote in a Facebook post. His second family gave him up following a divorce.
“He screams when he feels anxious and abandoned,” Jones explained. “If he’s quiet, it’s because he’s happy.”
On most days, the poor dog would howl, as if desperate for someone to finally give him a home for life. He came to be known as the shelter’s loudest dog.
Goose also has a “unique look,” missing an ear after being bitten by his mother as a puppy.
Adopt-An-ANGEL searched for a perfect home for the lonely dog, one that would give him all the love and attention he deserves. He couldn’t live in an apartment due to his loud barking, but was housebroken and good with kids.
Months went by, and with seemingly no one interested in adopting him, Goose’s loud cries went on and on — until a familiar face came to the shelter looking for him.
It was his former owner, who was shocked to discover that Goose was in the shelter. His ex-wife got the dog in the divorce (it was her dog from before the marriage) and at some point left him in the shelter: the husband only found out after a friend happened to see Goose at an adoption fair, according to The Dodo.
The owner drove from Florida to North Carolina to see his old friend — a reunion that left Goose silent for the first time:
“It was like he was saying, ‘I know that my people are here, so there’s no need to scream,’” Jones told The Dodo. “‘I was only screaming for my people.’”
The man took Goose out of the shelter and drove him back to Florida. While he isn’t able to take the dog in himself, he has found Goose a new home with his father.
Goose’s days of crying are over — we’re so glad he was rescued by his old friend and has a great new home!
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