When an animal control officer arrived at Louisiana’s DeRidder Animal Pound one morning last November, he discovered a young pit bull mix tied outside the entrance.
She had been left directly beneath a sign that clearly read, “Do Not Drop Off At Gate.”
No one knew how long she had been waiting there. It was possible she had spent the entire weekend alone, tied to the gate and hoping someone would eventually notice her.
The officer brought the dog inside, but the small municipal pound had limited resources. The young dog, later named Snow White, desperately needed someone to step forward and give her another chance.
Fortunately, help soon arrived.
Volunteers with Seventh Heaven Rescue, a New York-based organization that helps vulnerable dogs in Louisiana, met Snow White at the pound and immediately knew they wanted to help her.
“When Snow White first came into our care, she was very dirty, covered in fleas, soaking wet, and had been spayed the day before,” Jana Reiss, president and cofounder of Seventh Heaven Rescue, told The Dodo. “She was not underweight, thankfully, but she was in no condition to be recovering from surgery where she was.”
Snow White was placed with a foster family in Louisiana, where she finally had the chance to rest, recover and feel safe.
Despite everything she had experienced, she quickly began opening up.
“Emotionally, she was surprisingly open,” Reiss said. “Once she realized she was safe, she started settling in and showing us who she really was.”
It didn’t take long for Snow White’s affectionate personality to emerge. She learned her foster family’s routine, followed them from room to room and always wanted to be near someone.
“We figured out she was a cuddler because she made it very clear,” Reiss said. “She wanted to be close to people.”
Soon, Snow White was enjoying all the things she had been missing — playing tug-of-war, making friends with other dogs and curling up beside the people she trusted.
Although she became deeply attached to her first foster family, Snow White seemed capable of forming a bond with almost anyone who showed her kindness.
In February, she traveled to New York and moved in with another foster family, who planned to care for her until she found a permanent home.
“If love was being offered, she was happy to receive it,” Reiss said. “She is affectionate and people-focused, and she wants to belong.”
Finding that permanent home, however, was not guaranteed.
According to Reiss, dogs who look like Snow White are often passed over because of assumptions surrounding pit bull mixes.
“Dogs like her are often overlooked before people ever get to know them,” Reiss said. “That is the ugly truth. A lot of people make assumptions based on appearance or breed instead of looking at the actual dog in front of them.”
But while Snow White waited for someone to choose her, something wonderful was already happening.
Her foster parents in New York were falling completely in love with her.
“We were holding each other strong to be able to give her up to another home,” Ronna Neal, Snow White’s foster mom, told The Dodo.
Eventually, Neal and her husband realized they simply couldn’t imagine letting her go.
They had learned Snow White’s personality, understood her little habits and watched her become completely comfortable in their home. After everything she had been through, they didn’t want her to face another move.
“She was so comfortable and we knew her little quirks … and we felt it would have hurt her to be moved once again,” Neal said. “She trusted us.”
So the family made their decision: Snow White was already home.
“They have fallen head over heels in love with her,” Reiss said. “They can’t bear the thought of losing her, so they have decided to adopt her.”
For a dog who was once left tied outside a shelter with no idea what would happen next, life now looks completely different.
“I am so incredibly happy for her,” Reiss added, “because she absolutely loves her life now.”