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31st Mar 2024

Dog finally finds home after spending 852 days in animal shelter

Ryan Price

Echo was given up by his family in 2021.

A five-and-a-half-year-old dog named Echo has finally found a new home after spending almost two and a half years at an animal shelter.

Echo was brought to the Marion Area Humane Society in Ohio in 2021, after his original owners discovered they were expecting a baby.

The dog, who volunteers at the shelter worried was ‘unadoptable’, left the shelter with his new family on Monday, marking the end of the longest stay the centre had ever witnessed.

The shelter staff said it was bittersweet to see him go as he had become “a huge part of their lives”.

In a post on Facebook, they wrote: “AFTER 852 DAYS ECHO HAS LEFT THE BUILDING!

“Wish him luck in his foster to adopt home,” they added.

The post also featured two pictures of Echo with his new family.

“Echo, our longest term resident was surrendered in 2021… he has waited SO long for someone to give him a chance.

“Everyone who knows Echo loves him! We are going to miss this boy so much at MAHS. After almost 3 years he has made himself a huge part of our lives.

“Every dog deserves a chance no matter how long it takes. Echo has stayed strong mentally and emotionally for us so we knew his time was coming. We’ll never give up on them!

“We will keep you all updated as we hear more! We know how much he means to so many people.”

Underneath the post, several followers of the page left comments of well-wishers for Echo, having followed his journey since he arrived at the shelter back in 2021.

One person wrote: “I pray this precious boy is blessed with his forever home. I pray that whomever adopts him, is patient, loving, and understanding of his past situation.

“That he will need time to trust and decompress. Prayers for Echo.”

Another said: “Good luck Echo be a good boy! Thank you so much for giving him a chance!

“We took Tucker,” they added. “It took him a good 8 months to adjust but he has turned into such a sweetheart!

“It just takes time!”

Back in November, the staff at Marion Area Humane Society posted a plea to potential adopters to consider giving Echo a new home, as they believed at the time that his “spark is fading”.

They wrote: “Echo is 5 1/2 years old and originally came to us after his owner had a baby. He has done tons of meet and greets and we watch him get his hopes up, only to be put back into his kennel…again.

“Our volunteers joke that Echo’s meet and greets should be two parts – indoor and outdoor. As soon as Echo sets foot in the grass, he enters “fetch mode” and wants to play ball for hours on end, and he doesn’t care about anything else.

“When he is indoors, Echo is much more attentive and affectionate.”

They continued: “This dog is beautiful, smart, and active, and it’s so hard to watch him waste his days in a kennel.”

Four months on, and Echo has proved that he is adoptable, and is now settling in nicely to what will hopefully be his forever home.

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