The famous quote, “A dog is a man’s best friend”, has proven itself to be true so many times, yet humans still act cruelly towards these wonderful creatures.

Many people who call themselves dog lovers judge puppies based on their looks, especially if they’re looking to adopt one from a shelter.

That’s exactly why Dutchess, a sweet doggo with a heart of gold, desperately waited for her new family behind kennel doors, and was left disappointed every time people just passed by her without giving her the slightest chance to prove she’s worthy of love and affection.

A shelter dog named Dutchess became one of the favorite pooches in the Orange County Animal Services (OCAS) because of her playful nature and positive energy.

However, that didn’t seem to be enough for her to get adopted by people who come to OCAS for a new pet, as the only thing they could see were the cysts under both of her eyes.

As the members of the organization wrote in a Facebook post, no one would even look at Dutchess, let alone ask to bring her home.

Those who would care enough to stop by her kennel were only there to make inappropriate comments and questions, such as:

“She looks so ugly.”

“What’s wrong with her?”

“She’ll never get adopted.”

Fortunately, Dutchess doesn’t understand human language, so these comments didn’t bother her at all. Instead, she was still immensely optimistic every time she saw a new face coming into the shelter, thinking that it was finally her day to go to a forever home.

Although OCAS didn’t manage to find her a new home, Dutchess was on the road with Rescue Dogs Dream, Inc. (RDD) who saw her story and couldn’t stand her being left in the shelter for yet another day.

The smile on Dutchess’ face was enough to show how much she enjoyed the time she spent at the foster home.

Her foster parent did everything she could to make Dutchess’ stay as pleasant as possible, and the doggo, as well as the RDD, were more than thankful.

The RDD welcomed the doggo with a Facebook post, where they also shared all updates regarding Dutchess:

“We want to thank Chris Murphy for transporting to us, and Beth Lord for fostering her. She is doing great, and is so happy to be FREE. She scarfed down a McDonald’s cheeseburger and is making herself right at home.”

Although Dutchess was already an adorable dog even with pom poms under her eyes, a vet surgeon decided it would be best for her health to remove the cysts and make her feel more comfortable.

Great news came in while they were waiting for the surgery – Dutchess found her forever home, or better to say… home found her.

More than ten applications arrived regarding the adoption of Dutchess, which was a pleasant surprise for the staff of the RDD. It wasn’t difficult to find the perfect family for this adorable doggo, as they mentioned in the update post:

“We can now announce we have found her PERFECT fit!! She will have a new Mom and Dad that treat their pups like kids. Dad works from home. They recently lost one of their fur babies, and had been looking for the right fit.”

The surgery went well, and Dutchess recovered in a couple of days while being surrounded by her new family who gave her all the love and affection she needed.

Dutchess’ new owners decided to change her name to Lena, and considering how well she was doing, it seems like she was promoted from duchess to queen.

She’s enjoying her life to the fullest with a loving family and a furry brother.

Lena is a miracle to her parents as well. They lost one pup just before meeting Lena, so she has been a true blessing for them.

According to the latest update, Lena is doing just fine. She gets along well with the other dog, and is quite successful in dog training:

“She graduated from a level one doggie training class and is signed up for level two and then a good canine citizen class. She’s so sweet, just loves to play and be around us all the time.”

Lena’s story had a happy ending, but there are still lots of dogs in shelters that are waiting for their fairy tale.

For the end, I’d like to share a part of the OCAS post – something that we all, as dog lovers, should think about:

“So, come to the shelter with an open heart. Look inside every kennel. Look for Dutchess. Look for the ones no one wants. That’s how you save a life. That’s how you make a difference. That’s how you change the world for one.”

People just passed by her without giving her the slightest chance to prove she’s worthy of love and affection.

Tags: animaldogspuppiespuppyRescue Dogweloveanimal