“We’re not really sure what his living environment was like prior to coming to us, but it was very apparent that he didn’t trust everyone right away,” Lauren Mann, advancement manager at the shelter, told The Dodo. “He did warm up with treats and when he was out of the kennel and in the play yard.”
Big Mac was surrendered by his owner in December of last year because they “didn’t have time for him and they were moving,” according to Mann. The shelter needed someone patient and caring who could show the abandoned dog that humans weren’t so bad.
But time passed, and soon Big Mac was the longest resident at the shelter.
Then, 260 days later, a miracle happened — Big Mac walked out the door of McKamey Animal Center forever.
One of the shelter volunteers had agreed to foster him in her home and fell in love with the once-fearful dog, deciding to make him a permanent part of her family.
“When my coworker took him in to foster, she said the first night he slept, like, 12 hours straight, and just really opened up and wanted to play with her other dog and even wanted to play with the cats,” Mann said. “[He] really made a 180 and was a great dog overall.”
The shelter worker’s dog even helped Mac learn how to trust again.
“Her resident dog took him under his wing, and when they were out for a walk and he’d get a little scared, her dog would be like, ‘No, it’s OK,’” Mann said. “And he’d show him that it was OK and people could be trusted.”
When Big Mac left the shelter for the last time to go home with his new mom, Mann and her team wanted to do something special to commemorate the occasion.
The shelter staff gathered together at the entrance to give the longest resident a standing ovation as he walked out of the building for the last time.
You can watch the adorable video here:
“His new mom was surprised that he handled it so well, which shows that he’s doing a lot better with stranger danger,” Mann said. “He was just ready to go … he didn’t really care about treats or pets or anything. He was just ready to go home.”
Now, Big Mac is part of a loving home and has a new family who will never leave his side.
