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Sadly, not all dogs have an easy life and many end up in shelters, dreaming of their forever home.
One such dog was Luna, who spent over nine months in a shelter in Texas, after she was picked up as a heartworm positive, pregnant stray.
Luna got her lucky break when Shellby Hall, 34, and Dominic Hall, 33, decided to foster her out of the shelter, but her healing journey had only just begun.
"Once we learned she had heartworm we knew she had a long journey ahead of her," Shellby Hall told Newsweek, "so we decided to foster her for multiple months."
In a video posted by Hall to Instagram, Hall writes that when they got Luna home, "she was so used to sitting in a cage, staring at a wall almost 24/7 that when she first came to us, she would sit in our living room and just stare at the wall."
Shellby described Luna as "shut down, and completely unsure of the outside world."
"She tried to jump on cars and was very timid on a leash," she told Newsweek, "She was also scared and unsure of new dogs. After living in the shelter for close to a year, you can't blame her. Shelters can do great work but they are loud, chaotic, and stressful environments, and many dogs from shelters are often on high alert at first because they don't know who to trust."
Roughly 6.3 million companion animals enter shelters in the U.S every year, according to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), "of those, approximately 3.1 million are dogs, and of those, 390,000 are euthanized.
The video shows Luna's transformation from nervous rescue dog, to energetic bon vivant after Hall decided to fully adopt her. She now enjoys playing in the snow, trips to the lake and naps on the sofa with her two siblings, Piper and Jewels.
"She has finally learned what it's like to be a dog, to go on adventures, get new toys, try all of the yummy treats, and she has learned that she can finally let her guard down and just enjoy life," Hall said. "She still gets nervous meeting some new dogs, but if we take it slow, and introduce them slowly, she warms up to them and learns that new dogs can often be kind and are not always a threat. Luna is truly just loving life and we couldn't be any happier that we 'foster failed' with our sweet girl."
With more and more people understanding the importance of rescuing dogs rather than purchasing them from pet stores, the ASPCA estimates that the number of dogs entering U.S. shelters annually has declined from 3.9 million to 3.1 million since 2011.
The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) reports that animal rescues and shelters are a key source of new pet acquisition, accounting for 40 percent of cats, and 38 percent of dogs in 2020.
"I would absolutely recommend rescuing a dog," said Hall, "There are so many amazing dogs in the shelters or still living on the streets and all they want is a family and a loving home. I will forever be an advocate for rescue, I have met some of the most beautiful souls in my life through rescue, the ones who have suffered more than many, yet have kinder souls than most."
Hall explains that her other rescue dog, Piper, helped save her life through some of the darkest days she has ever endured.
"I lost my little sister to suicide 12 years ago," she revealed, "and I adopted my first dog, Piper, just under two months after her passing. I knew that being there for dogs and helping ones who needed it, just like they helped me, was my life's purpose.
"All in all, Luna and our other two dogs have really helped save my life, they have given me a purpose, they have shown me the importance of caring about others, often times more than yourself. And I would not be the woman I am today without dogs."
"Give her lots of love for me. She's amazing," commented one user on the Instagram video, "Thanks so much for loving Luna! God bless you abundantly," said another.
Do you have funny and adorable videos or pictures of your pet you want to share? Send them to life@newsweek.com with some details about your best friend and they could appear in our Pet of the Week lineup.
About the writer
Leonie Helm is a Newsweek Life Reporter and is based in London, UK. Her focus is reporting on all things ... Read more