Dog Who Waited 523 Days at Shelter Finally Finds a Home

Blimpie had been waiting for 523 days at the Kent County Animal Shelter for a home. But that wait is finally over.

When Blimpie arrived at the Kent County Animal Shelter in Michigan no one thought he would end up becoming a longtime resident.

Blimpie was picked up as a stray in March 2022 when he was found running loose on the streets. Thankfully, Blimpie adjusted to shelter life quite well. He didn’t love playing with other dogs but he did love people and the longer he stayed the more supporters and fans he got among volunteers and staff.

The more shelter volunteers and staff got to know him, the more they wanted him to find a family so they regularly shared news about the American Staffordshire terrier mix’s happy demeanour and playful personality on social media.

One such post shared that the dog has his own “blimpie hug”.

“When he REALLY REALLY loves you, he’ll touch you with his paw and chew on a tennis ball,” the shelter wrote of Blimpie on their Facebook page. But they added, the tennis ball is not for sharing, just for showing as he’s “absolutely obsessed with them.”

They later wrote that the goofy dog “loves to dish gossip, chase tennis balls, chew tennis balls, hide tennis balls, try to hold multiple tennis balls in his mouth at once, peanut butter snacks, oh, and did we mention tennis balls?”

Kent County Animal Shelter continued to regularly share posts of Blimpie on social media that got a lot of shares but no takers. It wasn’t until a local news station did a story about Blimpie being a long time resident that he got noticed by the right person.

Shawn Boomers wanted a dog and talked to his friend Courtney who told him about Blimpie. He watched WoodTV News 8’s recent feature on Blimpie and liked what he saw. So he went to the shelter and spent an hour playing with Blimpie. A few days later, much to the surprise and delight of shelter staff, he came to pick Blimpie up and take him home.

Angela Hollinshead, director of the Kent County Animal Shelter, told News 8 that staff and volunteers were thrilled for Blimpie.

Knowing the transition for longtime canine residents can be difficult, she said that Boomer and his new dad have a whole team available to them to help Blimpie adjust to life at home.

“If there’s ever an SOS call where they’re having a behavioral issue with their new dog that was long-term, we have a whole huge group of people, staff and volunteers who are really interested in stepping up and providing a lot of support for these adopters of the long-term dogs,” Hollinshead said.

That help happened right away when Blimpie couldn’t settle down during his freedom ride. Boomers instantly got help from a shelter staff member who dropped everything and came and drove Blimpie to his new home.

Blimpie has been at his new home for two weeks now and he’s been adjusting well, said Boomers.

“He likes to watch the Detroit Lions with me. He’ll just lay there. And normally, he’ll pass out on the couch, but he was actually somewhat awake watching the game,” Boomers said. “He’s (also) very cuddly. He likes his cuddles.”

Hollinshead and Boomer know that patience will be needed to give Blimpie the time to decompress and adjust to life outside of the shelter. After all, 523 days is a long time for a dog!

Boomers admits Blimpie does need to learn some house manners.

“He doesn’t know house manners too well,” Boomers laughed. “He likes to jump on the coffee table because he thinks it’s a chair. He’s working on that — he hasn’t done that in about a week.”

It appears Blimpie is a fast learner. Boomers also has a positive, patient attitude towards his new best friend. He knows that dogs like Blimpie just need a little help.

He said, “They haven’t been in a house in a long time, and so, they have to adjust to not being cooped up in a shelter and actually having freedom again. You just got to be patient and reward them when they’re good. They’ll catch on fairly easily.”