Adopting an animal is one of the kindest things you can do.
While dogs and cats never stop loving their owners, all sorts of animals end up in shelters and pounds for reasons beyond their control.
Welcoming one of these animals into your home is like keeping the promise their last owners broke - for reasons good or bad - to look after them forever.
Country music star Luke Bryan and his wife Caroline obviously understand this, because when they went looking for a new pet they zeroed in on a very special dog.
Poochie update:He's REALLY mushy and affectionate. He likes to grab your arm with his little paws while you're petting his face and rest his head on your arm. And we've progressed to actually pottying outside now that he knows he will get to go out regularly. He's pretty cute! pic.twitter.com/Ar4AA0COwV
— Proverbs 12:10 (@TNProverbs1210) February 7, 2019
Proverbs 12:10 Animal Rescue from Nashville, Tennessee wrote on their Facebook page that the couple adopted an 18-year-old dog named Poochie last weekend.
After being surrendered by a former owner (supposedly because they developed an allergy), Poochie had been living in a foster home. The couple came across his picture online and apparently it was love at first sight.
The shelter, which specializes in "seniors, sickly and injured animals," was looking for a "forever foster home" that would love and care for Poochie until his dying day.
Bryan and his wife applied to adopt him - and apparently included "impeccable" references.
Soon, Poochie was living with the couple on their Tennessee farm, alongside other dogs, chickens, and goats - plus the couple's sons Bo, Tate, and their adopted son Til.
"Loving my new buddy," Bryan wrote on Twitter while sharing a story about Poochie.
The animal shelter joked that there was a song to be written about this heartfelt story, but we say it's a good reminder that if you open your heart to a pet they'll open theirs to you - no matter their age or condition.
The animal rescue charity also praised the Bryans for adopting Poochie, because it opened up space for another rescue dog. That's just another reason to adopt, not shop, for your next pet.
The righteous care for the needs of their animals, but the kindest acts of the wicked are cruel. -Proverbs 12:10.
[H/T: Southern Living]
