After waiting 4 years, shelter pup finally gets a home. See emotional goodbye video
An animal shelter in Illinois is overjoyed after its longest resident was finally adopted — and has a video to celebrate her emotional goodbye.
Sandy, a mixed-breed, 5-year-old dog, has been waiting a long time to call a family her very own. While she’s spent most of her time under the care of a loving foster, the skittish pooch — who carries adorable nicknames like Sandypants and Sandypaws — has been more than ready for a fresh start.
And now, Sandy has gotten her wish.
“If you’ve known PAWS for a while, you probably know Sandy,” the PAWS Chicago shelter said in a Jan. 12 Instagram post. Along with a few emotional paragraphs, the center posted a video of the staff — and with Sandy’s new mom — giving the departing pup many kisses and pets.
“She’s our longest stay dog ever - well, *formerly* our longest stay dog - because she’s officially adopted!”
PAWS has been mentioning Sandy across their social media feeds for years now, hoping to reel in an owner who will adore her playful side just as much as her shelter family, including this Facebook post from Nov. 9, 2022.
The posts say the canine has a hard time meeting new people because she’s shy, so that might have played a role in her extended stay.
That is until she met her new owner.
“Sandy spent most of the last 4 years in foster care, and after recently returning from a foster stay, Sandy was at our Adoption Center when Kim came in looking for a best friend last weekend,” the shelter said in its Instagram post.
“She’d seen a video of Sandy’s foster talking about how wonderful she is on her PAWS online profile, and came in to ask about her. Needless to say they were fast friends, and for the first time in 4 years, Sandy was adopted!”
Staff bid adieu as Sandy ran from person to person, showing her love with face licks and a fast-moving tail nub.
“Today, we gathered all of Sandy’s favorite people to send her off with love, and we’ve never seen a tail work so hard! We are thrilled for her and her new mom, please help us give all the congratulations to this extremely special PAWS alum,” the shelter noted.
For information on other adoptable pets, visit the shelter’s website.
This story was originally published January 13, 2025 at 2:30 PM with the headline "After waiting 4 years, shelter pup finally gets a home. See emotional goodbye video."