After 700 days of waiting for his Gotcha Day, senior dog Velcro finally finds his paw-fect match in a fellow senior citizen.
Velcro, previously known as Beluga, is a 10-year-old senior dog who has searched for a loving home since 2022, Austin Pets Alive! (APA) shares in a Facebook post on March 7.
As a senior dog, Velcro has “arthritis and an unknown background likely contributed to some trust issues and progressive neurological/musculoskeletal challenges.”
So, the animal shelter in Texas described Velcro’s ideal owner as a “patient and understanding human” and a home that is as “slow paced” as the pooch.
And who would better understand Velcro’s needs other than a fellow senior citizen, right? So, that’s when Jeanette came in the picture.
APA shares that Jeanette, at 75 years young, needed a low energy dog to share her home with and spoil to her heart’s content.
The shelter also shares a bit of Jeanette’s story saying, “Jeanette recently lost her two senior pups and was ready to open her home to another senior pet in need.”
APA describes Jeanette and Velcro’s story in the best possible way — “a story of two souls looking for their perfect match”.
Talking to PEOPLE, Jeanette described how her first meeting with Velcro went. “He was reserved at first, but as soon as he came out with me, he changed,” she said.
And after spending time with Velcro, Jeanette felt that they were meant for each other.
Jeanette shared, “I wanted a dog that was more placid, and Velcro fit that bill. He can’t jump up; his back legs are weak. He can’t hump, which is another plus in a male dog.”
The animal shelter shared that Jeanette welcomed Velcro into her home as a foster, with the intention of adopting him.
APA describes the whole foster-to-adopt process that helps both the shelter and the new foster parent as something that “helps the dog acclimate to a new environment by providing at-home behavior consults and lifelong adoption support.”
After a few days with Jeanette, Velcro now “trots around in the backyard”, something that the senior pooch never did during his two-year stay at APA.
In a now-viral video, APA shares how the once “slow paced” Velcro now trots around in the backyard with his hooman.
“He’s just bloomed,” Velcro’s new hooman said.
Furthermore, Jeanette tells APA that she hopes her adoption story will encourage other people to not overlook special needs and senior dogs at shelters.
The new dog parent said, “They deserve love and they give as much as they get. They respond to love just as well, if not more than younger dogs.”
“Velcro has adopted me… he has chosen me,” she added.