'Neglected' Senior Dog Still Smiles Despite Waiting 700 Days to Be Adopted

After spending 700 days in a rescue shelter, one senior dog still hasn't given up hope of finding his forever home.

When Scratchy arrived at the SPCA of Brevard Adoption Center, he had already spent over four months in the Orange County Animal Services without any luck getting adopted. He's thought to be about 11 years old, so the shelter hopes to find him a loving home where he can enjoy his senior years.

The executive director of the shelter in Brevard County, Florida, Susan Naylor, told Newsweek he's an incredibly relaxed and content dog, and that his story has "touched a lot of people."

"He was brought to the Orange County Shelter after being part of a hoarding situation," Naylor continued. "We brought him to our shelter after he had been with them around four months. Usually, we are able to get senior pets into homes fairly quickly.

"He has received interest in the past. He used to be considered for a single dog-home, so that deterred a lot of people from taking him. However, we've discovered that he can co-exist with other dogs that don't want to jump all over him and get rowdy. He likes to be friends from a distance."

Naylor believes that Scratchy would be best suited to a "laid-back home" where he can enjoy daily walks, plenty of relaxation, and squeeze in the occasional "water play time" that he so enjoys.

Each year, 6.3 million pets are surrendered to U.S. shelters, which is an average of 17,260 a day, according to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. The number of dogs and cats taken in by pet shelters hit 46,807 during January 2023, an increase of 1,744 compared with January 2022, the 24Pet 'Shelter Watch Report' found.

Around 920,000 surrendered animals are euthanized every year. Shelters are striving to minimize euthanasia rates by promoting adoption campaigns, spaying and neutering programs, and behavior rehabilitation.

Almost two years after being taken in, Scratchy is still waiting to be adopted, so the shelter shared the senior dog's story on Facebook to generate new interest. The viral post explained that "he had pretty much been neglected for most, if not all, of his nine years of life. Now, at nearly 11 years old, he is still looking for some kind of stability and family to love him for whatever time he has left."

The heartbreaking Facebook post received hundreds of likes and shares, and the shelter hopes someone will come forward for the loving dog.

Naylor told Newsweek: "We've had hundreds of people share his story and people seem to really be rooting for him. We do have a couple people who seem interested. At the very least, there is someone willing to do a short-term foster if no one steps up to adopt."

The story of Scratchy's 700-day wait for a home continues to break hearts, but Naylor highlighted how many other animals find themselves in a similar position, as she encourages more people to consider rescuing.

"There are dozens more dogs at our shelter and thousands of dogs in shelters all over the country that truly need help. We are fortunate enough to not have to euthanize for space, but many other shelters don't enjoy that luxury," she said.

"Pets are losing their lives every day, simply because they don't have a home. We help shelters that must euthanize for space, but we can only help when we have the space."

Among the many comments on the Facebook post, one user wrote: "Thank you for not giving up on him."

Another person responded: "Please someone give this guy a chance, he just needs a home to call his own. He'd be fine in a single person's home, or with a family but with older kids."

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