Higgins, an older German shepherd, spent almost seven years in a shelter before finally finding him forever home.
Many people who visited the shelter even offered to put him down because they felt he was too old and had been through too much. However, Leslie Renner, executive director of the Preble County Humane Society in Ohio, never gave up hope that Higgins would find a good home. She felt that Higgins just needed the right person to come along and fall in love with him.
His previous owners had taken him in as a puppy but had treated him poorly. After a negative experience in his first home, Higgins returned to the shelter in 2012.
“People are looking for puppies or six-month-old dogs,” Renner said. “When he came back, he was a year old, then two, then three.”
Because Higgins had lived in a shelter most of his life, adopters assumed he had issues.
“They would say things like, ‘Oh, he’s too old. He’s been in the shelter too long. He’s going to have problems,’” Renner said. “I think people just didn’t see his potential.”
“He always had this worried look on his face that he was a little scared when he was in his kennel,” Renner said. “People would just walk right past him.”
When 22-year-old Brandon Reed saw his photo on social media, he instantly fell in love with him and decided to adopt him.
“He was just a beautiful dog,” Reed said. “He just seemed so sweet… I don’t know how he wasn’t adopted.”
Reed worked hard to make his new home a comfortable place for the older pet, Higgins. He bought a soft couch for Higgins to sleep on and watch TV, and he also enjoyed watching him play in the yard and roll in the grass.
Soon, Higgins started forgetting about his difficult times at the shelter. Now he was living out his years in a warm, loving home where his dad ensured he felt safe every day. And Higgins showed how much he loved Reed back by being extremely affectionate toward him.
Now, Higgins is living the good life with his new family and is finally getting the love and attention he deserves. His story is a reminder that no matter how old or how many times you’ve been through something, there’s always hope for a better tomorrow.
