Dogs are God’s gift to us! These animals are so loving and loyal to us, there is simply no better companion we could ask for! A 72-year-old grandmother from California was mourning the loss of her husband and wanted to adopt a dog at her local shelter. The widow, Melani Andrews, had already decided before she even entered the building that she wanted to adopt the dog that nobody else wanted to bring home. Melani went up to the shelter volunteers and specifically asked for the oldest dog there, one that was the least likely to be adopted or find a forever home.
Melani, who was was going through a rough period in her life, made the decision to adopt a dog after her grandkids convinced her that she could use a new family member to keep her company. Melani tragically lost her husband and, as if things weren’t hard enough already, her beloved Staffordshire terrier also passed away. “I was feeling down and a little depressed,” Melani said. “My grandkids came over one night, and they said, ‘Grandma, you need somebody to keep you company. You can’t just sit around here all by yourself.”
Melani took her grandkids’ advice and headed to the shelter. But, she didn’t go in just looking to adopt any dog. “I wanted to help somebody — a dog — like Lola helped us, and so I told them I wanted the oldest dog they had, the one that everybody was passing up, and that I wanted to adopt him,” Melani said. “I don’t care if he’s sick, I don’t care if the shelter can help with bills. I don’t have a lot of money, but I’m sure I have enough to take care of a little dog.” Soon after she walked into the shelter, Melani spotted a 12-year-old terrier named Jake and she instantly fell in love with him. Melani soon found out that this dog had been brought in as a stray a few months earlier. “Jake’s two friends ignored me, but Jake perked up and started howling,” Melani said. “So I said, ‘It looks like he wants to go, and I’ll take him.’”
Staff members at the Front Street Animal Shelter were so happy that someone wanted to take home their oldest dog, but they also had to inform Melani about Jake’s condition. The senior dog was already partially blind, completely deaf and suffered from terminal skin cancer. Doctors told Melani that they were not sure how long Jake had to live.
“They informed me that he had cancer and he had a limited amount of time,” Melani said. “And I thought, ‘We’re going to make his time as good as we can make it.’” Bobby Mann, who is the relations coordinator for the shelter, was so happy to hear that their oldest pup finally received the love that he rightfully deserved, saying: “It was amazing because she was one of the few people who actually gave this dog an opportunity, and you could just tell from that picture of how excited that dog was to have an opportunity to get out of the shelter. He was one of our longest-standing residents. We were hoping that someone like her would come along, and give him the life that he deserved.”
Even though he finally had a place to live out the rest of his days, Jake was still a bit nervous after Melani adopted him. Bur, after he went home and walked around the house for a few minutes, he was completely comfortable being around Melani and settled into his new family perfectly. “He laid his head in my right hand, and I drove with my left hand,” Melani said. “It was like he was saying, ‘OK, let’s see how we do together.’ It was really cute. I’ve never had a dog do that to me. You could tell by the way he came into the house that he’d been living in a home. He hadn’t been living on the streets for very long. He knew to crawl up on the chair, turn himself around, lay down and go to sleep, just like you see a cat on a chair.”
Now, Jake wasn’t the only one who got something good out of this adoption. “Every day I laugh a little bit more,” Melani said. “It’s not so lonesome. I think [he] knows that I love him because he’ll come over to me and he’ll rub up against me and ask me to rub his backside. And then he’ll nose me with his nose. And a dog that doesn’t know that somebody loves him wouldn’t be doing anything like that. The way he’s taken a turnaround here, I may end up having him for a year — maybe two if I’m really lucky,” she said. “But when he goes, I’ll know he went happily.”
[Source/Animal Channel]
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