Every year, six to eight million animals enter U.S. shelters, but only three to four million get adopted. Many wonderful volunteers will take the dogs out for walks and maybe have a few minutes of play time, but at the end of the day, the dogs and cats are alone once again with no human to snuggle with. With so many animals entering shelters and the popularity of buying dogs from purebred breeders or pet shops, the odds seem stacked against needy shelter dogs. But thankfully, there are many amazing animal shelters across the country working tirelessly to find dogs and cats a forever home.

One of them, The Anti-Cruelty Society, Chicago’s oldest and largest animal welfare organization, just celebrated a success with their longest term dog finally going home! Lady first came to shelter back in January and was adopted, but unfortunately, she was returned to the shelter in March. But that’s all behind Lady now because she found her people!

Knowing how much Lady loves to snuggle her stuffed animals, The Anti-Cruelty Society gave her family a bag full of stuffed animals. Lady was so happy, she even stuck her tongue out for the photo op. Go Lady, go!

The Anti-Cruelty Society said that when she left the shelter, “she wagged her tail, looked back at the staff and volunteers, trotted right out the door and hopped into her new family’s car” Seems like Lady gave a big paws up to her new parents!

The Anti-Cruelty Society also said that Lady’s new family was given a gift package from Bentley’s Pet Stuff and BareItAll Petfoods sponsored her adoption fee. What a great happy ending for all!

With over 70 million homeless dogs and cats wandering the streets in the U.S., we could all stand to a lot more to ensure the lucky animals who make it to shelters get their happy ending too. If you’re considering welcoming a four-legged companion into your home, please always adopt and never shop. If you’re unable to adopt, animal shelters could always use more volunteers to help wth a variety of tasks, so be sure check out our guide to volunteering!

For more information about the amazing work The Anti-Cruelty Society does for our furry friends, check out their website.

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Image source: The Anti-Cruelty Society/Facebook