'Scared' Dog Found Tied to Pole Outside Shelter Finds Loving Forever Family

A "scared" dog left tied to a pole and abandoned outside a Missouri animal shelter has found a forever family to care for him.

A pit bull mix named 23rd & Handsome was left outside Stray Rescue of St. Louis and found by the organization's shelter manager on July 27.

Described by the shelter as being "dirty" and "a little scared" when found, the two-year-old pooch was quickly taken into its care and given the unusual name due in part to being found on the corner of 23rd and Pine Street.

"He held his head down and his eyes were wide," the shelter's marketing director Natalie Thomson told Newsweek.

"He was probably feeling all sorts of things—fear, nervousness, and uncertainty. His spine was showing and he needed to gain some weight. But Shell (the shelter's manager) gave him some baby talk and he started wiggling his entire back end.

"Once he knew we were the good guys and we were going to take good care of him, he opened up and his personality blossomed. Volunteers loved taking him to the park and for car rides—he seemed to smile all the time," Thomson said.

"But he was overlooked by adopters. Big two-year-olds have a lot of energy and need a family who will play with them and provide structure and training. So he waited and waited until the perfect family came to meet him."

The shelter shared an uplifting update on its Facebook page on Monday, November 13, that showed Handsome with his forever family.

Pets In U.S. Animal Shelters

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.

Stray and Rescue of St. Louis said on its website that it takes in animals "who no other organization will help or would simply euthanize because they are too expensive to heal." The organization was founded in 1998.

The animal shelter rescues abandoned, beaten, bred, injured, and "betrayed" pets and aims to give them a second chance.

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.