Spazz’s smile says it all. He’s been at the Hempstead Town Animal Shelter for many, many months, living in a small cage, but as soon as he sees a friend, his face breaks into the biggest grin any dog has ever had.
Shelter staff member Michael Whalen has worked closely with countless dogs, but Spazz’s story gets to him more than most. When Spazz was a puppy, he was adopted from a shelter, but three years later, he was found wandering the street as a stray. His microchip led to a house where nobody lived, and to this day, no one knows what happened to Spazz’s onetime family.
Spazz is one of the most playful, loyal dogs Michael has ever encountered, and the reason he suspects the little goofball is having such a hard time being adopted is because people simply aren’t seeing him. Because the shelter environment is very scary for Spazz, he spends time hiding in the back of his kennel, where he remains invisible.
If only someone would take the time approach his cage, Michael knows that Spazz would find his forever home. While he’s inside the kennel and afraid, Spazz displays a classic sign of serious stress—he licks the walls—but the minute he’s taken outside with a kind human, the weight of the world seems to fall from his furry little shoulders.
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The stress of the shelter hasn’t broken Spazz’s playful spirit. When he sees Michael or some of his other volunteer friends, Spazz does something no other dog does. Instead of showering people with slobbery kisses or simply getting started on a walk, Spazz looks into his human’s face and gives one single kiss. It’s his way of saying “thank you.”
Spazz has so much gratitude to give but no one to give it to. With some dogs, suggests Michael, you can just tell that they’re yearning for someone to call his own. Spazz is one of those dogs. “If Spazz goes home,” says Michael, “He will know that that person saved him, and he will spend his life loving them for it.”
Spazz is good with both dogs and cats and would like to be in a home with children age thirteen and up. If you think you might be the person Spazz is looking for, please reach out via his Facebook page, Spazz Wants to Be Your Boy, or contact the Hempstead Town Animal Shelter at (516) 785-5220 or via email at [email protected].
Featured image via Spazz Wants To Be Your Boy/Facebook
