18-02-2025
Dog with ‘soulful eyes' waited at shelter. Then family 6 hours away was ‘moved by her'
A dog with 'soulful eyes' waited for a home — then she caught the attention of a family living in another state.
The South Carolina couple drove six hours to a shelter in Florida, leading to a heartwarming adoption.
'They had been moved by her story, and wanted to meet her,' Orange County Animal Services wrote Feb. 15 on Facebook. 'They didn't ask a million questions about her behavior or her past. They didn't ask about her health or her size. They just saw a shy dog that needed their help; a dog with a sweet face and soulful eyes, and they just knew. This was the dog for them.'
The dog, Helga Hufflepup, got a second chance after she arrived at the shelter 'skin and bones.' She had been living as a stray, scared and protective of her food.
'Though not much is known about her, it's not hard to deduce that she's been mistreated in the past,' the Orlando-based shelter wrote in a Feb. 10 post. 'She often flinches and closes her eyes, expecting a lot worse than a soft hand on her.'
Over time, the 'sweet and shy' 2-year-old pup started to gain trust. As she waited roughly one month for a home, the shelter shared her story on social media. The same day it posted one of the updates, it received an unexpected email from the South Carolina couple.
'We get a lot of out of state, and even out of country requests for our animals,' the shelter wrote. 'It's rare that someone would actually make the trip to meet one of our dogs, but we responded, and let them know Helga was available. And their response? 'We're driving down this week to adopt her.''
Then the shelter shared the good news that the couple made the six-hour journey to become Helga's owners. Several Facebook users congratulated the pup on her next chapter, while others said the update made them emotional.
Orange County Animal Services can't reveal adopters' personal information, such as the South Carolina couple's hometown, spokesperson Bryant Almeida told McClatchy News via email.
