A shelter dog in Michigan decided that he didn’t want to wait for a new family to adopt him. Instead, he went out looking for a home on his own! Before moving into the animal shelter, Scout had been a stray. However, staff members noticed signs of past abuse in his behavior. The poor dog even appeared to have been shot with a pellet at some point. However, Scout still knew there was something better for him out there.
One night, Scout escaped over the fence and ended up at Meadow Brook Medical Care Facility, a nursing home that caters mostly to senior patients with terminal illnesses or dementia. The pooch snuck into the lobby and made himself comfy on one of the couches. In the morning, authorities arrived and took the pooch back to the shelter.
However, Scout was nothing if not persistent. He escaped a second time and a third, even though it required him to clear a 10-foot fence, another 6-foot fence, and then a highway. Each time he ran off, he always ended up in the same place: the nursing home lobby.
Marna Robertson, the administrator at Meadow Brook, decided to give Scout a permanent home at the facility. As it turns out, this has been a win for everyone.
“I’m a person who looks at outward signs, and if it’s meant to be, it’s meant to be,” Marna said, according to the Detroit Free Press. “He did that one time, two times, three times, and obviously that’s something that you should pay attention to. And I asked the staff, ‘Well, he wants to be here. Would anybody like to have a dog?'”
Scout now belongs to Glacier Hill, one of several households within the medical facility. He’s very popular with residents, who love it when the dog drops by their rooms for a visit.
“He’ll always let you pet him and lets you talk to him if you need someone to talk to,” said 82-year-old Shirley Sawyer. “It’s very nice.”
Jenni Martinek, household coordinator for the nursing home, says that Scout has become a great comfort to sick and dying patients. The dog is also extremely protective of residents. While they’ll never really know why Scout latched onto Meadow Brook, Jenni thinks the pup may have sensed that there were people in the facility who could use his companionship.
“You know, it’s really hard to say,” Jenni said. “Maybe he felt like it was a safe environment. He certainly has a penchant for the elders. He’s very in tune with what they need, especially our very vulnerable population. If they have dementia or if they’re dying he knows that, and he will go and be with them and comfort them. He must’ve just felt like he needed to be here.”
Whatever brought Scout to his new home, both staff and residents agree that his presence has been a blessing. Now, this pooch is finally getting the love and attention he deserves!
You can find the source of this story’s featured image here.
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