Every day, dogs in shelters gaze at the kennel door with hopeful eyes as they wait for someone to give them a chance. They long to meet humans who will love them and show them how beautiful life can be.
Sadly, many dogs have been hurt and they became fearful and distrustful. They need to slowly learn how to trust again.
Pepperoni Pizza Slice, a 5-year-old dog at the Watauga Humane Society in Boone, North Carolina, knows this feeling firsthand.
The pup faced heartbreak before he came to the shelter. He was tied to a tree and heartlessly dumped without food or water in the woods, and with no note to explain why.
More than 160 days have passed since then. The sweet pup continues to wait at the shelter for someone to hug him and never let him go.
From Abandonment To A Second Chance
Scared and lonely, Pepperoni waited in the woods, hoping that someone would find him and take him somewhere safe and warm. No one knows how long he waited there.
When the help arrived, the pup breathed a sigh of relief. The Watauga Humane Society took him in and the staff gave him all the love and care that he had been missing.
It wasn’t easy for him to get used to the new environment. New people made him nervous. Fortunately, as time went by, he began to show that he was a loving and gentle pup.
“He’s honestly a really good boy,” a shelter representative said in an interview.
Those who know him best have seen the way his eyes soften when he recognizes a friend, the way his tail starts to wag when he feels safe.
He just needs a home without other pets or children where he can keep growing at his own pace.
Learning To Trust Again
Pepperoni has been at the shelter since May 2025.
Each day, staff watch as he makes steady progress. He’s learned to walk calmly on a leash, respond to commands, and even grow more comfortable with muzzle training.
His shelter friends can see that he craves love and wants to belong.
When volunteers return him to his kennel after a walk, he often looks back, as if hoping this time, he might be going home for good.
Still Hoping For A Forever Home
Although he made progress, no one has offered to adopt him.
His needs make his adoption more challenging, but the shelter remains hopeful that the right person will come along. They know he’s worth the wait.
“It won’t happen overnight,” the shelter wrote in a post. “He’ll need multiple visits, patience, and understanding. But if you’re someone who sees the beauty in the messy middle, if you know that trust earned is the strongest kind, Pepperoni might just be your once-in-a-lifetime.”
Pepperoni is still waiting for a person who will see him for who he really is. He can’t wait to show them that he is a loyal friend who just wants to feel safe and to finally rest knowing he’ll never be left behind again.