For months, he lived behind shelter walls — a place meant to offer temporary safety, yet never truly a home. Each morning, he would sit patiently near the front of his kennel, his hopeful eyes following every footstep that echoed down the hallway. Maybe today would be different. Maybe today, someone would stop… notice him… choose him.

Days turned into weeks, and weeks into months. Still, he waited.

Not with bitterness, but with quiet faith.

The shelter staff knew him well — the gentle dog who wagged his tail for everyone, who leaned into every hand that reached out, craving even the smallest moment of affection. They often wondered how