Having a dog is a big commitment. They’re like family, and you have to be ready to take care of them throughout their lives no matter what.
Sadly, some owners just abandon their pets in shelters when they become inconvenient, and the poor dogs have to wait for a new home.
Smiley the pit bull is as good a dog as you could ever ask for. True to his name he’s friendly and outgoing, is housetrained, and knows commands both in English and Spanish.
But his owners still decided to give him up… because they were expecting a baby.
An unfortunate amount of people still feel the need to give up their dogs when they have a baby, even though dogs can be a child’s most loyal protectors.
But it’s even more inexplicable in Smiley’s case considering he is such a good dog. He isn’t aggressive at all.
Making things worse, the Brooklyn animal shelter he was surrendered to was apparently a kill shelter, and Smiley was scheduled to be euthanized, even though nothing was wrong with him.
But hope wasn’t lost. A local rescue group called Pound Hounds Res-Q planned to pull the dog from death row, the only thing was they didn’t have a foster family lined up.
Luckily, Olena Kagui happened to see Smiley on Facebook, and immediately fell in love.
“I normally scroll past, because it makes me sad that I can’t rescue all the dogs in need, but something about his face caught my attention,” Olena told The Dodo.
“I started bawling when I saw that no one in the comments said they could take him.” Olena and her husband stepped up to foster the dog, saving his life.
It took Smiley some time to adjust to his new foster family and his new home—understandable given all he’s been through.
But with a little love and care, Olena was able to make a breakthrough and the two began bonding.
“Smiley is proof that all shelter dogs deserve a second chance and even if they have issues at the shelter, they might be completely fine outside of a stressful environment!” Olena wrote on Facebook.
Over time, it became clear that this really was Smiley’s forever home… and she decided to adopt him herself.
“Smiley already feels like part of our family,” Olena told The Dodo. “It doesn’t take long for a foster dog to make their way into your heart. Our home would already feel empty without him here.”
We’re so glad Smiley is safe! It’s a reminder of the importance of fostering and adopting rescue dogs—you can give a second chance to dogs who have been sadly left behind.
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