I am a college student, but I commute from home. Of course, I have a dog of my own. Her name is Bebe, and she has been a great dog for the past 7 years (wow. Has it been that long?)

Well, my story isn’t about my dog. I volunteer frequently at a local animal shelter. What’s special about this shelter is that it is a no-kill shelter. They don’t put down a dog or a cat for just about any reason.

There was a dog that I fell in love with when I started volunteering there. His name was Ollie, and he was a Great Dane; a big dog for sure. He was a great dog most of the time, but he had behavioral issues that were very hard to understand and fix.

He went through a VERY traumatic experience with his first owner. Ollie saw his first owner commit suicide, and he sat by his dead owner for three days until someone finally found them. He was so bonded with his owner that he protected the body for 8 hours before they were finally able to remove the dog. God, it makes me choked up whenever I think about it.

At first, they thought he was okay after about a month at the shelter. But then, when one of the volunteers went to pet him, he bit her on the face. She had to get plastic surgery for what happened.

He was messed up in the head. He would get really attached to one person, and so attached that he would protect them to the full extend. So, if I were standing outside with him, and you approached to shake my hand, he would probably bite you because he doesn’t know you. You’d have to let him greet you first, and that even didn’t work 100% of the time.

Now, when you couple behavioral issues with that size of a dog, it’s a pretty difficult case. People were interested in hearing about him, but as soon as they learned about his problems, they would immediately have a low opinion of him.

I know what you’re thinking. Did they put the dog down? They are a no-kill shelter, so no, they didn’t. They all braved the danger to try to rehabilitate him and spend time with him. Being the conservative that I am, it’s hard to believe that I wasn’t in that same boat. Most conservatives want to put down any dog that seems unadoptable. I don’t agree with that 100%. I mean, if a dog shows promise, and you’re willing to risk it, GO FOR IT!

I came in about two summers ago. I started spending time with him after school during my senior year, taking him for walks, and even taking him outside the shelter to parks and on car rides (with the shelter’s permission of course.)

But now for the good news. All of our work would pay off. It took a 3 year stay at the animal shelter to finally get adopted this past June. He really has come along way. However, we understand that those problems could re-surface at any moment.

I attached a picture of him. He really was such a cool dog, and he has really made a difference in my life. He probably has a few more years to live, so hopefully, I’ll be able to see him again soon.

Jason from OH