Ginger, a nine-year-old labrador mix, has been waiting over seven years for a forever home. After being abused at a young age, overcoming health and behavioral challenges, and spending most of her life in a shelter, all this resilient pup wants is a loving guardian.
Hoping to fulfill Ginger’s long-held wish for companionship, her caretakers at the Dogwood Animal Shelter in Osage Beach, Mo. recently appealed to social media, posting a photo of the aging dog with a heartbreaking sign affixed to her kennel door.
“I’m a good girl! I promise!,” the sign reads. “I just need a 2nd chance.”
The post quickly went viral, receiving over 45,000 shares after PawsUp – Ellen DeGeneres’s Instagram account dedicated to drawing attention to adoptable dogs – helped spread the word about the homeless canine.
More than 30 people, some from as far away as Texas, New York, and even Canada, have applied to adopt Ginger, and she should soon find her perfect match!
“Long term residency for animals in a true no-kill shelter is a problem not unique to Dogwood Animal Shelter,” the rescue wrote in a post thanking Ginger’s fans for their support. “The fact that she would be best placed in a home with no other animals or small children has narrowed the possibilities, but we never give up trying.”
Ginger’s story reminds us that even less “adoptable” shelter dogs can find loving guardians if their stories are shared and heard.
