It’s amazing the huge difference a little love can make in the life of a dog. So many pets start their lives in sad situations, struggling and fending for themselves on the street, but completely turn around once they get the care they need.
Like one dog, who always has the biggest smile on her face after finding her forever home — now she’s an internet star called “The Happiest Dog in the World.”
Meet Shortcake:
Yes, that huge smile is real, and it’s a face she makes all the time, ever since being rescued by her owner, Amy Matsushima.
“She’s very silly, full of sounds and playful when she’s not sleeping but even then she smiles,” Amy told the Daily Mail. “She really does smile most of the time.”
But Shortcake hasn’t always been so happy. In fact, she had a very rough start as a stray dog on the streets of Fresno, California.
“Shortcake was found on the streets suffering from severe mange and a hernia,” Amy told Daily Mail. “Her time was up at the shelter when Fresno Bully Rescue became aware of her.”
“She wasn’t in the best shape as everyone that met her back then said that she smelled like rotting flesh due to her mange.”
But when Amy came across Shortcake’s photo online, she immediately fell in love with the dog and her unbreakable spirit.
“When I came across her picture on the rescue’s site, I couldn’t believe it,” Amy told Good Morning America. “She looked miserable, but she was wagging her tail and she did have her little smile, and it just hit me in my heart. I was like, ‘I have to meet this dog.'”
After meeting Shortcake for the first time, Amy decided to adopt. Luckily, the dog soon recovered from the mange.
Shortcake is now a healthy, playful and chill dog — she prefers staying home to going on walks — and her newfound happiness is clearly shown on her face.
Shortcake’s most distinguishing feature is her frequent, huge smiles, something that Amy still doesn’t quite understand.
“I’m not sure why she smiles so much,” she told GMA. “I can’t make her due it on cue.”
But Shortcake’s smiles have delighted fans online. Her own Instagram account, @theladyshortcake, now has over 185,000 followers.
“The great thing about the social media is that people tell me what joy she brings to them, and how they make her smile,” Amy said. “I just think that’s so great, that she makes other people happy.
You can follow Shortcake’s Instagram for more of her beautiful smile!
We’re so glad this dog found a home and is so happy! Share this amazing story!
