In 2013, this dear dog named Ginger arrived to Dogwood Animal Shelter in Missouri, reportedly the victim of abandonment. She was just a couple of years old at the time, but the experiences of her early life had left their mark.
Ginger was anxious and slow to trust — qualities that, in the eyes of some, deemed her “unadoptable.”
So, when it came to finding someone who’d show her the patience and love she needed, Ginger would have to wait. And wait.
And wait.
Dogwood Animal Shelter
For the better part of a decade, Ginger continued to wait — peering out from her cold kennel as potential adopters passed her by, opting to take home other dogs considered more desirable than her.
Seven years had come and gone, and the once-young pup was by then very much a senior dog. Her chocolate-brown fur had given way to white and gray.
But sadly, beyond that, little else in Ginger’s life had changed.
Dogwood Animal Shelter
Ginger may have resigned herself to the sad realities of shelter life, any hope of something better having faded from her mind. But she hadn’t yet been forgotten.
In 2020, shelter pet advocate Scott Poore of Misson Driven learned of Ginger’s situation — and decided to push back against what seemed her certain fate of leaving the world unloved.
“It absolutely broke my heart, so I stopped what I was doing and dedicated all of my time to her,” Poore told The Dodo. “I started telling her story to anyone that would listen.”
After seven years of languishing in silence, Ginger finally had a voice.
Mission Driven
And soon, everything began to change.
With that added exposure, bringing new eyes to Ginger’s years-long situation, people began to reach out with offers of hope to the pup. Hope she had lost.
Included among them was Beth. Beth decided to give the old dog a second chance at a happy life, to enjoy in the years she had left