“He kept getting passed over again and again…”
By Ashley Ortiz
Published on Sep 22, 2022 at 1:56 PM
Meet Martin — a senior shelter dog who desperately needed a home after his elderly family surrendered him.
Martin was around 10 years old when he arrived at SPCA of Wake County. His dad loved him so much, but he just couldn’t care for Martin anymore.
“His [dad] was 89 years old and reached a point where he couldn’t provide the life that he felt Martin deserved,” Samantha Ranlet, marketing communications specialist at SPCA, told The Dodo. “He wanted a better life for him.”
Martin’s dad brought the senior pup into the shelter, hoping that they could help Martin find a home where he could live out his golden years in comfort.
“He adjusted pretty well,” Ranlet said. “I don’t know if he understood what was going on, but even from day one, he was just this happy, easy-going, really sweet old man with a teddy bear face.”
Because of Martin’s age, however, the task of finding a suitable adopter turned out to be harder than expected.
“He kept getting passed over again and again,” Ranlet said. “In two months, seven adoptions fell through for various reasons.”
Martin’s age wasn’t the only factor affecting his adoption, though. He was also heartworm positive, which made potential adopters wary.
So, after the seventh adoption fell through, SPCA staff decided to do something different in order to get the word out about Martin.
“We reached a point where we thought, ‘We have to use the internet to ask our community to help us share him and get him into a home,’” Ranlet said.
https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FSPCAwake%2Fposts%2Fpfbid05FHfVKSrahEfaw3DmW6ypfxoT4sz87u7yZVrn18799mS5iv28g5igJkpC2vY8ijml&show_text=true&width=500
Sure enough, all it took was one Facebook post describing Martin’s story, along with two pictures of his adorable teddy bear face, to get him the visibility he needed.
“[Posting on Facebook] made all of the difference,” Ranlet said. “His post was shared by thousands of people, and all of the sudden, we had people contacting us over the phone, by email, etcetera.”
Martin’s post went viral, and within less than 48 hours, adoption applications for the senior dog were completely maxed out.
One of the applications came from a couple who had experience with senior dogs.
“They weren’t afraid of his age and they weren’t afraid of the fact that he had heartworm disease,” Ranlet said. “They just fell in love with him and his teddy bear energy.”
The couple took Martin home, where he’s been for a few weeks. His adoption isn’t finalized yet, since he’s still receiving heartworm treatment at SPCA of Wake County on the weekends, but it will be soon.
“As soon as he completes his treatment, they’re going to make the adoption official,” Ranlet said. “He’s got another month or two ahead of him.”
Martin is the only dog in his new family, but he is happily sharing his space with his younger cat sister, called Hilltop.
Even though they get to see him during his regular heartworm visits, SPCA staff miss Martin every day. But they are so excited that he found the perfect home against all odds, and hope that his story will inspire others to adopt older pups.
“It’s nice to give more attention to senior dogs,” Ranlet said. “It helps remind people that they’re worthwhile to adopt, too.”
To help Martin and other pups get the care they need, make a donation to SPCA of Wake County.
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Couple Gives Their 19-Year-Old Dog The Best Last Day By Getting Married
He spent his last days on Earth celebrating his family 🥺
By Ashley Ortiz
In 2006, 12-year-old Ryan Dyer received a surprise he’d been dreaming of for years: an adorable puppy, whom he named Jack. Jack and Dyer became instant best friends, going on to make countless memories together for nearly 20 years. But it wasn’t until one of Jack’s very last days on Earth, the day of Dyer’s wedding, that the most meaningful memories were created.
As a puppy, Jack’s favorite days included naps by the pool, play-fights with his fur sister, Charlie, and walks around the local Australian wetlands with Dyer. He wasn’t quite into toys and never enjoyed chasing sticks, but he was obsessed with food and the boy raising him.
The years passed quickly, and Dyer soon turned from a teenager to a young adult with Jack by his side to celebrate every milestone. There was nothing that Jack loved more than spending time with Dyer — until Lib came along. Dyer’s girlfriend, Lib, hit it off instantly with Jack, and the duo quickly became an unbreakable trio.
“When [Lib] and I moved in together in 2019, she became a massive part in Jack’s life, too,” Dyer told The Dodo. “He’d sleep on our bed or couch in between us, have a [puppuccino] while we had our morning coffees, but most importantly, he was our chief food taster … every meal we cooked in the kitchen, he tried it first.”
Even though he was aging, Jack’s life became even more adventurous when Lib arrived. To help keep him as healthy as possible, Dyer intentionally kept Jack active by taking him everywhere with them.
“Whether this was camping, interstate trips, beach days, to wineries and breweries, into the city, to any family gathering and everything in between. If it wasn’t dog-friendly, then we wouldn’t do it,” Dyer said. “Instead of going to the movies, we always went to our local drive-in theater so the three of us could sit in the car, share some snacks and watch the film together.”
In March of 2024, Dyer proposed to Lib with Jack’s help, and the couple knew right away that they wanted to include their beloved pup in their wedding. But as the special day neared, Jack’s health began to decline, and the couple soon realized that his wedding involvement would be more bittersweet than expected.
Sadly, Jack’s mobility began to decline in the months leading up to the big day. He celebrated his 19th birthday two weeks before the wedding, complete with his favorite foods and a relaxing walk in his mobility cart. But after a series of debilitating seizures, his parents had no choice but to say goodbye to him a few days after their nuptials.
“Planning his goodbye was honestly the toughest thing we’ve had to do,” Dyer said. “We were very fortunate that he pushed on to make it to our big day to celebrate with us.”
Despite the heartache, and fueled by their unconditional love for the sweet boy, Jack’s parents planned to include him in every part of their wedding celebration. Jack’s mobility cart was placed next to the groomsmen during the ceremony, where he watched his parents say their heartfelt vows.
After the ceremony, the wedding guests, many of whom had known Jack for years, had the chance to love on him one last time.
“For the reception and cocktail hour, we set up a bed and snack bar, so people could give him a treat, a pat and say any of their own goodbyes,” Dyer said.
You can watch footage from the wedding here:
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DI0oTL1z-88/embed/?cr=1&v=14&wp=810&rd=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thedodo.com&rp=%2Fdaily-dodo%2Fcouple-gives-their-19-year-old-dog-the-best-last-day-by-getting-married#%7B%22ci%22%3A0%2C%22os%22%3A32017.19999998808%2C%22ls%22%3A31869.799999952316%2C%22le%22%3A31871.599999964237%7D
Throughout the event, wedding videographer Jamie Ross focused on capturing all the best moments with the couple and their loved ones, including Jack.
“I don’t usually get emotional at weddings these days … but this story got me,” Ross wrote on Instagram. “When I arrived on the wedding day, it was immediately clear how much Jack meant to his Ryan [and] Lib, and I knew I had to capture whatever I could.”
To end the night, the newlywed Dyers shared a special moment with Jack on the dance floor.
“During the final song of the night, I picked him up so the three of us could dance together, and shortly after bringing him onto the dance floor, he let out the most adorable howl, which made us all laugh,” Dyer said.
The Dyers’ wedding day was unforgettable, made even better with the presence of their four-legged best friend. They spent the following days showering him with love at home, then tearfully said goodbye to him on Monday.
It’s been a month since Jack’s passing, and his presence is still heavily missed at home. Though heartbroken, the Dyers feel comforted when looking at their wedding photo shoot, knowing they gave him the best farewell a dog could ever ask for.
“We love it so much, as he’s got the happiest smile on him,” Dyer said.
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