Howard
Howard sat at the Wichita Animal Shelter at the top of the euthanasia list. An old pit bull on death row, feeling hopeless. On his very last day, the barn pulled him. In one whirlwind weekend, the sanctuary went from three dogs to six.
Howard was the barn's first Wichita Animal Shelter pull: "Welcome home Howard. We've been waiting for you."
The defeated dog from death row turned out to be the happiest soul in the barn. Just a glance his way would send his tail wagging. And then there were the bubbles. No dog or human could match his love for them. He tasted his first-ever ice cream cone, ran through sprinklers, and caught "a JILLION tennis balls,". Even Hank's (Day 5) constant fun-policing couldn't deter him from having a good time, all of the time.
But month after month, Howard watched other dogs leave for forever homes while he stayed. His hips and knees were bad, and his pride was hurt if anyone tried to carry him up stairs.
"Howard has been in the barn the longest of all our pups and we are completely baffled why," the barn pleaded. "He needs his person."
Then, after eight months, the post everyone had been waiting for: "IT'S FINALLY FB OFFICIAL. HOWARD HAS A FOREVER FAMILY!"
As the barn put it, "We may have saved his life, but his forever mama saved his spirit."
Howard got more than a year of the family life he'd waited so long for. In April 2020, the barn said goodbye to its sixth baby: "May bubbles run freely everywhere and over everything."
Howard's story started hours from being put down. Instead he spent the next two years smiling. He was given the chance to feel hope, happiness, and what a furever home feels like.
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