Every day inside a shelter feels endless to a dog who longs for affection. No matter how kind the staff may be, it can never replace the comfort of a real home.
Now imagine the despair of a pup who waited nearly four years in such a place. For Elle, a sweet dog who arrived at **Austin Pets Alive!** in Texas back in December, that became her reality.
As the months stretched into years, Elle began to lose hope that she would ever find a family of her own. But one staff member never gave up believing in her.
She Did Not Give Up On Her
During her long stay at Austin Pets Alive (APA!), a shelter in Texas, Elle was anxious, especially in the beginning. Yet, she still managed to form deep bonds with the people who cared for her.
One of those bonds was unlike any other. Kaitlan Warmbrod, a dog behavior training supervisor, quickly realized Elle just needed someone to open their heart to her.
“We clicked so quickly,” Kaitlan told The Dodo. “When I first met her, it was when I first started at APA!. We started by playing fetch, and when I went to leave, she got sad and fell into my lap. She normally would take some time to warm up to people, but she was attached to me. After that, I became so invested because I didn’t understand why she was in the shelter so long.”
Kaitlan poured her energy into helping Elle find happiness. Slowly but surely, her dedication began to pay off.
The entire shelter was counting down the days with anticipation, but no one more than Kaitlan, who knew Elle’s joy would be beyond anything she could picture.
A Goodbye Party To Remember
One day, a man named John came across Elle’s story on social media. He was deeply moved to learn she had spent more than 1,400 days inside the shelter. Determined to meet her, he reached out to the staff.
John visited Elle several times, patiently giving her the chance to warm up to him. Before long, he decided to bring her into his home as a foster.
Although it wasn’t yet the forever family she had been waiting for, the shelter staff knew it was a life-changing step. To honor Elle’s long journey, they planned a heartfelt goodbye party for their longest resident.
What they didn’t expect was just how overjoyed Elle would be. As the realization sank in that this was her last day at the shelter, she could hardly contain herself.
The highlight of the celebration was a peanut butter goodbye cake, which made the moment even sweeter.
As Elle walked out of Austin Pets Alive! to begin her new chapter, Kaitlan and her colleagues thought their hearts couldn’t be any fuller.
But then came even more hopeful news from John: he had entered the foster-to-adopt process, with the dream of keeping Elle forever.