For Ozzie, my furry brother from another mother

Ozzie is looking for his forever home.

The Humane Societyof Eastern Carolina has been home to a special dog for the past two years. Ozzie’s been living in a six-foot kennel for 730 days (give or take a few). That’s 14 years in doggie time. He’ll continue to live there until the exact right person comes to take him home because HSEC is a no-kill facility, which is awesome. Except, how long can a dog live in a shelter environment without losing every ounce of his spirit?

My amazing little sister has this to say about Ozzie.

Things you should know about Ozzie. He is on the naughty list for being so choosy about his canine friends. He would do best in a home with no other dogs.

He is a Chow mix that takes time to let you into his world, which is why he is harder to place. People want to walk in, instantly bond and go home. That's just not how Ozzie works. He needs to know you are there for him and that you will be there day after day, and once you earn his heart, he's all yours.

It's not that he is mean in any way shape or form; it is just that he won't even look you in the eye or acknowledge your existence until he learns what you are all about. If you know Ozzie, this is something you will grow to love and respect about him!

He is very receptive to our staff and regular volunteers that see him day in and day out and will follow us around the office when we let him roam around. He loves his walks and has even been known to jog on occasion, but mainly, Ozzie loves to keep you company and snuggle up in a warm blanket.

He recognizes certain staff when he hears their cars pull in and cries and cries until we come and greet him. This is how we know he has such potential to be an awesome part of someone's family.

His loyalty is neverending!

He needs someone to take a leap of faith in him and I'm hoping I find that person soon:) I would like nothing more to have Ozzie in a home for the holidays!

I feel like Ozzie and me have a lot in common. We both are terrified of strangers and take a long time to warm up to people. This means, some people will judge us quickly and never give us time enough to show them how loyal we can be.

Ozzie is no stranger to fame. Two years ago, the Pitt County Animal Shelter took Ozzie in. There are two sides at the shelter—adoptable and unadoptable, and each side has 25-30 pens. The shelter has the unenviable job of sorting all the dogs that they take in into these limited spaces. In October of this year alone, the facility brought in 290 dogs.

I suck at math, but even I know those numbers don’t work.

Ozzie, due to his distrust of humans, was not chosen for the adoptable side. A well-meaning volunteer posted his picture on social media, her heart broken by the thought that he'd never get a chance. He’s an adorable guy, so obviously, people noticed him. Unfortunately, people let their ire be misdirected, sending threatening messages to the shelter and bad-mouthing the good people that work there.

People from as far away as Texas and Florida swore they were coming to rescue Ozzie from the horrible people that would put down such a “beautiful creature.”

Ozzie is beautiful, as are all the other dogs on the unadoptable side of the shelter, but let’s pause just a moment to remember the shelter workers and volunteers already have homes bursting with animals. These are not the people filling shelters with unwanted animals. They are doing their best with limited resources to save as many animals as they can.

Not one of Ozzie’s social media admirers came to rescue him. Instead, HSEC stepped in at the request of the volunteer who had first seen potential in Ozzie.

In the past two years, Ozzie has been adopted and returned twice. Despite being warned that Ozzie does not easily make doggie friends, his first rescuer took him to a dog park, where he, of course, lost his cool. He was returned.

Another guy adopted Ozzie, but then abandoned him when he had to move.

There’s a reason we call dogs Man’s Best Friend. They are loyal. They live to be part of a pack—to belong.

Ozzie has been denied this over the past few years. The stress has taken it's toll.

And while I’m glad Ozzie’s life was spared, I wonder if we really did him a favor?

Ozzie’s life is safe. HSEC will make sure of that.

But how many other dogs and cats are trapped in this cycle because of our well meaning, but perhaps misguided attempts to help them?

No. I am not saying we should euthanize more animals. 

Euthanasia is a horrible side-effect of our society's "disposable" mind-set. Today, if the toaster breaks, we toss it and buy a new one. In the past, people at least tried to fix things before tossing them. How sad that some pets are treated with no more respect than toasters?

I am saying you should hug you local shelter employees and volunteers. Bet they need one Every. Damn. Day. And thank them for doing with dignity the difficult tasks associated with caring for unwanted pets that we choose to ignore in our day-to-day lives.

I am saying that if you are considering finding a pet, please do your research. Once you know what types of dogs would best suit your entire family, start at your local shelter, Humane Society, rescue group, or Petfinder.com. There are all breeds and ages of unwanted pets literally dying for you to save them.

I am saying pets are never perfect. They have quirks and personalities and frailties all their own. They’re going to screw up, just like us. And we need to respect these things about them. Would you surrender your child because he has a hard time making friends? Would you give up on a friend because she lacks self-confidence? Would you leave your spouse behind because a new job opportunity asks you to move?

And yet the shelters are full of animals surrendered by their owners for these and many other reasons.

Let’s review that math again. 290 intakes in a 31-day period. 45 available spaces. That’s 245 animals with nowhere to go. Nowhere.
And that’s just 1 month out of 12, in 1 small county out of 100 in North Carolina, which as we all know is . . . 1 state in 50.
See why I hate math!

I feel like Ozzie and me are kindred spirits, both hiding behind defenses we’ve built to protect us from being let down by people. I want nothing more this Christmas than for Ozzie to be given a chance for true love, to have a home. But I want it to be a forever home, and that will take a very special kind of person. He is, after all, a very special kind of dog.

Click on the links in the blog post to learn more about HSEC and Ozzie!