Woman Takes Senior Shelter Dog 'Nobody Wanted' for Walk—Never Returns Her

A senior shelter dog that “nobody wanted” found the perfect home when her new owner took her for a walk one day.

Kim, who had recently lost her previous rescue dog, Panda, returned to the shelter she adopted Panda from intending to honor her late dog’s memory. Little did she know, this visit would lead to a new life-changing friendship.

“When my previous rescue, Panda, unexpectedly passed away at age 9, I found myself back at the shelter to honor her and what she taught me about rescue dogs,” Kim told Newsweek. “I hadn’t originally seen Dolly when I arrived, as she was on a different side of the shelter, but when I mentioned to the shelter volunteer how I was interested in a senior, he took me to ‘the oldest dog they had.'”

Pictures of Dolly enjoying a walk. After losing her dog, Kim was inspired to go and visit the shelter, and the rest is history.

@pandasparties/TikTok

Dolly, aged 9, had arrived at the shelter under tragic circumstances that resonated with Kim. It is believed that Dolly’s previous owner had died, and she was found in a backyard by animal control along with two other dogs after a neighbor reported not seeing the owner for some time. Dolly came with her own set of challenges, including a dog bite and severe anxiety, requiring a lot of patience and care.

Kim took her for a walk, and recalled on TikTok how a shelter worker told her: “You don’t have to keep her but it’s so nice to just get seniors out of the shelter even just for a weekend.”

But when they went out, it was love at first sight. “The way the volunteer said it was like they knew nobody wanted a senior,” Kim explained, but she knew Dolly belonged with her and took her home.

In 2023, 6.5 million animals entered U.S. shelters, according to Shelter Animals Count, up 4 percent when compared to 2022 intakes. At the end of 2023, 117,000 additional dogs and cats were in the animal sheltering system compared to the same time the year before.

“My favorite thing about her is how she carries a toy everywhere like a little pacifier. I used to call her ‘baby’ then ‘baby doll’ and then it became ‘Dolly,'” Kim said. “I adopted her because I think seniors deserve to see their happy ending too in their lifetime. She was in the shelter as a puppy, too, and sadly ended up back in as an adult. I wanted her to know that she would never end up back in a shelter again.”