On a frigid winter day in East St. Louis, a lonely pup named Adobe wandered aimlessly through the streets, feeling lost and heartbroken.
He longed for warmth, shelter, and a decent meal, but had no idea where to turn. As he trudged across the snow and ice, his paws turned red from the cold, and his small body shook uncontrollably.
The longer he stayed out in the freezing temperatures, the weaker he became. Realizing he couldn’t survive much longer on his own, Adobe made a desperate choice—he would seek help from humans.
A Devastating Cry For Help
He picked a random house and began circling it, crying out and pleading to be let inside. His cries reached the ears of two teenage girls who were home at the time, and they were immediately moved by his distress.
They opened the door and welcomed him into their garage, wrapping him in blankets to help warm him up. They even shared their own dogs’ toys, giving him something to comfort himself with.
For the first time that day, Adobe felt relief. The girls’ kindness stopped his tears and filled him with a spark of hope—he had chosen the right door to knock on.
Their mother contacted Gateway Pet Guardians, a shelter in East St. Louis, to report the dog’s arrival. Soon after, Jill, the rescue’s director of operations, arrived to pick him up.
Jill noticed right away that Adobe was wearing a clean, good-quality harness, which suggested he had once belonged to someone. Still, his time alone had clearly taken a toll.
“When I got him into the van, he was shivering really, really hard. His face, extremities, like his feet were really, really red, probably approaching something like frostbite,” Jill told GeoBeats Animals.
Despite her many years in rescue, Jill had rarely seen a dog so dangerously cold. She quickly brought him to the shelter, then to the vet for an exam. Aside from being a little underweight, Adobe was surprisingly healthy.
He’s A Lovebug
The very next day, Adobe was brought into the office, and the staff quickly saw just how joyful he could be. He bounced around, tail wagging nonstop, clearly overjoyed to be safe.
He showered everyone with affection, pressing into them for cuddles and soaking up all the love they had to offer.
The team was convinced he had once lived in a caring home and had somehow gotten lost. Sadly, when they scanned for a microchip, there was none.
Determined to reunite him with his owner, they posted flyers and listed him on lost-and-found pet sites, but no one came forward.
As Adobe adjusted to shelter life, the mystery of his past remained unsolved. But one thing was certain—he was a sweetheart through and through.
“What we do know is that he’s an absolute love bug with the biggest, most charming head and an irresistibly handsome face that melts your heart,” the shelter wrote on Facebook.
When it became clear no owner would claim him, the team focused on finding him a foster home, and ultimately a forever family, where he could continue to flourish.
Adobe enjoys the love and care from shelter staff, but more than anything, he dreams of the day his forever family walks through the door and takes him home for good.