Many shelter dogs spend their days watching shelter visitors pass by. They dream of the moment when someone will stop and notice them.
At night, the dogs feel the loneliest after the staff goes home, and time seems to pass so slowly as the shelter pups wait by the door.
If anyone knows how lonely shelter life can be, it’s Mikey.
The two-year-old dog already spent far too much time waiting at the Maui Humane Society, a shelter located in Puunene, Hawaii. Each evening, while other dogs went to sleep, Mikey stayed awake.
He fixed his eyes on the door, hoping this might be the night someone decided to take him home.
A Volunteer Who Could Not Look Away
Cassondra Christman, a volunteer at the shelter, was often the last person to leave at night.
She saw how lonely the shelter dogs felt when they stayed alone behind kennel bars. Saying goodbye to them before going home never got easier.
“It is one of the most emotional times of the day for me,” she said in an interview.
Mikey always gazed at her with his eyes filled with sadness as he sat by the kennel door. He seemed to believe that if he stayed awake, something good might happen.
The pup watched her every move, as if hoping she might turn back.
“I couldn’t believe every time I locked up at night there was sweet Mikey just waiting for his chance. Hoping maybe he’d get to leave with me—maybe to the yard, maybe home—who knows, but he was the most hopeful patient waiter I had ever seen,” Christman recalled.
Mikey never made noise at night. He was only waiting, holding onto the idea that his turn would eventually come.
The Video That Changed Everything
Christman couldn’t stop thinking about Mikey. Wishing to help him realize his greatest wish, she shared a video of him on social media. The footage shows the pup standing inside his kennel, watching her walk away.
“All day he would be waiting there all the way until I locked up for the night,” Christman explained.
Mikey’s story touched the hearts of many people.
And then, a miracle happened.
A family saw Mikey’s video and felt drawn to the pup. They came to the Hawaii shelter, met the pup and decided to take him home.
Shelter staff felt emotional as they watched Mikey leaving the shelter with his parents. They were so happy because he will no longer be waiting behind kennel doors.
“This is why we do what we do, especially when you see a sweet, senior animal who just needed to be loved. This is a storybook ending,” Christman said.
Mikey got his wish. He found the happiness he always dreamed about.