PRINCETON, W.Va. (AP) - A dog facing a bleak feature saw sunshine Wednesday when he headed for a new foster family and a chance for a better life.
The Mercer County Animal Shelter's personnel got out the glitter, balloons and flowers when it was time for Coffee, a 5-year-old boxer/pit bull mix, to head for his new home in Tennessee. Coffee showered his friends with affection and licked up some tears as they told him goodbye.
Coffee loves people, but finding him a home was difficult because he never learned canine social skills, Michelle Muncy, executive director of the Mercer County Animal Shelter said. He had started hitting his head against his kennel's walls.
"It was very difficult. The walls were closing in on him," Muncy said. "He needed a family. We all love him. He has a wonderful personality, but we're so glad to see him going out that door."
Sara Sullivan of Kaigan's Ark, a pet rescue organization in Bristol, Tenn., drove to the shelter Wednesday to take Coffee on a journey he was very eager to begin.
"Are you ready? Are you ready to bust out?" Sullivan asked. "No more wall busting. You're going to have a real bed and a real person sister."
She led him to her car and got him in the back seat, but he quickly jumped into the front seat and behind the steering wheel.
Coffee's foster family in Maynardville, Tenn. will be a good situation for him, Sullivan said.
"They don't have any other dogs, and that's what he needs right now," Sullivan added. "He doesn't need any other dogs. Most of our fosters have three dogs. He'll have a real mom, a dad, and a person sister. He needs a lot of socialization."
The people who had been taking care of Coffee were happy for him, but had to brush back tears as he told them goodbye.
"Yea, he was our baby," shelter worker Brittany Harman said. "We got to see him every day"
Another employee was happy for Coffee, too, but sad to see him go.
"I liked his personality. He was a very friendly dog. If you work with them long enough, you get attached to them. He definitely had a spot in my heart," kennel tech Heather Mitchell said soon after Coffee was on the road. "He definitely made an impact up here."