Senior Dog Waits 700 Days For A Home, Becomes The Sweetest ‘Velcro’ Pup
After two long years of waiting for a home, a senior dog with special needs finally found love and happiness with his new mom. He now sticks to her side so much that she’s renamed him “Velcro.”
Velcro (formerly named Beluga) arrived at Austin Pets Alive! (APA!) in 2022 after being pulled from a shelter, where he had arrived as a stray with “some sort of old trauma that caused pain in his neck and back and a permanent head tilt.” He also had poor eyesight and hearing, arthritis, and some neurological issues.
The 10-year-old senior dog waited for a home for over 700 days—until Jeanette walked through the door. Jeanette came to APA! looking for a dog after losing her pups. “Jeanette recently lost her two senior pups and was ready to open her home to another senior pet in need. At 75 years young, she needed a low-energy dog to share her home with and spoil to her heart’s content,” the animal rescue wrote on their TikTok account.
When she saw his head tilted to the side, she knew she wanted to meet him. “He has a neurological issue, so his head kind of tilts to the side, and he looked like, ‘Oh, look at poor, little me.’ So I said, ‘Okay, I have to see him,'” Jeanette told PEOPLE.
Shortly after, she took Velcro home as a foster-to-adopt, and to say the two hit it off is an understatement. Watch the two playing in the backyard.
This video is just a snippet of a story of two souls looking for their perfect match. When you AmplifyLifesaving, you pave the path for pets like Beluga and his new guardian to meet. There’s just 8 hours left to help us reach our $250,000 goal! We’re 65% of the way there–can you help us get to 75% before noon? Find the link to donate in our bio and read on to learn how the stars aligned for this duo. Velcro, FKA Beluga, is a 10-year-old senior dog who had searched for a loving home since 2022. With his older age came some arthritis and an unknown background likely contributed to some trust issues and progressive neurological/musculoskeletal challenges. His ideal home would be slow paced, just like him! And come with a patient and understanding human. He wasn’t the only one looking for a companion; Jeanette recently lost her two senior pups and was ready to open her home to another senior pet in need. At 75 years young, she needed a low-energy dog to share her home with and spoil to her heart’s content. Soon after meeting, Jeanette welcomed Velcro into her home under foster care with the intention of adopting. The foster-to-adopt process allows both APA! and the foster parent to help the dog acclimate to a new environment by providing at-home behavior consults and lifelong adoption support. Jeanette hopes her adoption story will encourage other people to not overlook special needs and senior dogs. “They deserve love and they give as much as they get,” she stated. “They respond to love just as well, if not more than younger dogs. Velcro has adopted me… he has chosen me.” Each year, thousands of at-risk animals come into our care, many of which have been deemed “unadoptable” due to behavioral or health challenges. We work to provide pets like Beluga with available resources to enhance their quality of life and prepare them for life outside of the shelter–because we know there are people out there that need them just as much. #austinpetsalive#austin#texas#austintx#shelterdog#dog#dogsoftiktok#happytail#adopt#adopted#adopteddogs#adopteddogsoftiktok#seniordog
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Jeanette hopes her adoption story will inspire other people to not overlook special needs and senior dogs. “They deserve love and they give as much as they get,” she said. “They respond to love just as well, if not more than younger dogs. Velcro has adopted me… he has chosen me.”
