Watch dog’s joyous reaction to being adopted out of Florida shelter. ‘I’m taken’
Thousands of animals enter shelters across the country every day, giving them a chance to get out of the elements — and find a new home.
When the day finally came for one Florida shelter resident, she could barely contain her excitement.
Luna, a black and white American bulldog mixed breed, arrived at the Walton County Animal Services shelter on Jan. 2 after being found as a stray, Animal Services Manager Patricia Weingartner told McClatchy News.
Estimated to be between 1 and 2 years old, the shelter checked for a microchip, but didn’t find one.
She was named Luna, and her photo was posted on the shelter’s Facebook page in case someone was looking for her.
After a three day hold for a potential owner to come forward, Luna was added to the list of adoptable dogs.
Luna spent 11 days on her best behavior until a woman came to shelter in search of her new best friend.
Weingartner said the shelter had been worried about Luna being adopted because of something they call “black dog syndrome,” where black and white dogs are often overlooked in shelters.
“(The woman) went out and took a look at all the dogs, and then she ended up picking Luna,” Weingartner said.
The staff normally waits until all the paperwork is filled out before bringing the soon-to-be-adopted pups to the front office, but on Jan. 13 they decided to let Luna watch as her new mom signed off on her adoption.
“She hopped right up in the chair and just happily watched her new mom fill out the paperwork,” Weingartner said. “I was like ‘You can’t make this stuff up’ and (our administrator) took a video of it.”
The shelter posted that video on its TikTok account, and soon more than 2 million people had seen Luna on her special day as of Jan. 25.
Comments flooded in, often with guesses on what Luna could be saying with her wagging tail. Many suggested Luna was proud to show off her new mom.
“(She’s) looking around like ‘Sorry folks, I’m taken,’” one TikTok user said in the comments.
“Don’t forget to sign the next page mom,” another said.
“I’m with her, we’re just going home,” another user wrote.
After the success of the video, the shelter reached out to Luna’s new mom.
“We did get an update and she’s doing great,” Weingartner said. “She has an older brother and a younger brother, and she’s doing good. They absolutely love her.”
Walton County is in Florida’s panhandle, about 130 miles west of Tallahassee.
This story was originally published January 25, 2024 at 3:49 PM with the headline "Watch dog’s joyous reaction to being adopted out of Florida shelter. ‘I’m taken’."
