A family’s backyard is where a stray dog named Oliver is discovered. When someone in Memphis, Tennessee, phoned Memphis Animal Services, the officers went to take up the dog since it was unclear if he had wandered out on his own or had been left there by his prior owner. Though first difficult to capture, once at the animal shelter, he was amicable, well-behaved, and at ease with everyone.
“I initially met him on his first day at the facility, and before I even gave him my treats, he sat down for me. Naturally, he was much more eager to sit when the sweets were brought out. He would put himself up to the kennel bars more frequently as we got to know one another so I could pet him. The Dodo was informed by Katie Pemberton, a community engagement expert at Memphis Animal Services.
The witty little one would smile and wave to anybody who passed by while keeping his food dish in his jaws and his puppy eyes fixed above. He was given the name Oliver as a nod to Charles Dickens’ fictitious Oliver Twist, who made his famous catchphrase “Please sir, I want some more.”
Whenever Oliver went, he constantly carried his food dish as if he were pleading for more treats or food. Oliver’s antics thrilled the employees so much that they began snapping pictures of him and sharing them on social media. Oliver was adopted and found his permanent home just in time for the deadline, thanks to the internet. Oliver would have been euthanized along with all the other puppies who sadly failed to find homes if no one had accepted him.
Given the unusually high number of adoption enquiries the shelter got after uploading the images, it is clear that Oliver’s social media presence aided in his adoption.
When Oliver’s new owners first saw him on the shelter’s Facebook page, they fell in love with him. They applied for his adoption right away and were able to bring Oliver home with them—of course, along with his food bowl!
