Tim and Victoria, a wonderful couple from New York, developed a deep affection for Golden Retrievers and wanted to welcome a dog of this breed into their life.
However, since they wished to adopt a Golden Retriever, they kept waiting and checking the shelters, hoping that the dog who was meant to be theirs would show up.
After three long years of waiting, the couple stumbled on a social media post that changed everything.
It was a post which Rachel Oldenburger, an advocate and shelter volunteer, shared on her Instagram – the story about Shadow, the Golden Retriever who had just surrendered to the shelter.
Could this be the dog Tim and Victoria had been waiting for all along?
Shadow Arrives At The Shelter
Oldenburger met Shadow when his owners left him at the New York shelter after he had lived four years with them.
According to Shadow’s former family, one of their kids developed an allergy, and they kept the doggo outside for half a year before they decided to surrender him.
He was dirty and infested with ticks and fleas – a clear sign that he was neglected.
Once Shadow was admitted to the shelter, he was sad and confused. The shelter environment was too noisy.
“This dog probably hasn’t slept a full night in months while living outside. And now he’s here. And he doesn’t know why. And it’s loud. So loud,” Oldenburger wrote on Instagram.
Oldenburger consoled him and brought him home in order to foster him.
She gave him a medicated bath and removed the ticks from his fur. The shelter volunteer hoped to help him forget his sad past and move on.
Shadow was the sweetest boy who quickly started feeling safe in her home.
Oldenburger posted Shadow’s story on Instagram, and the video garnered a lot of attention. The shelter received hundreds of adoption applications.
The Dog’s Happily Ever After
Tim’s sister, Jamie, stumbled on the social media post. She messaged Oldenburger and told her that her brother and his fiancée had been looking to adopt a Golden Retriever for three years.
After hearing their story, Oldenburger felt that this family was special.
The shelter organized several meet-and-greets, and Shadow was introduced to different families.
Once he met Tim and Victoria, the doggo felt drawn to them and rushed to their side, showering them with kisses. It was clear that he chose them to be his family.
“We met them at the shelter and Shadow quite literally picked them himself. He walked right up to Tim and Victoria as if to say, ‘Mom and Dad!!! I’ve been waiting for you,’” Oldenburger shared in an update.
The couple was overjoyed to have finally found their pup. They signed the adoption paperwork and took Shadow to his forever home.
The adorable Golden Retriever changed his name to Ollie, and he couldn’t be happier. He sleeps with his parents in their bed and has a bunch of toys to play with.
He lives the life he always dreamed of.