I adopted Whizzer the day he was scheduled to be euthanized because he was too afraid to let anyone touch him. He had been found 2 months earlier tied to a park bench in Harlem, emaciated, abandoned by the people who were supposed to love him and protect him, and brought to an overcrowded high-volume kill shelter where he would live on a concrete floor and live in fear of the frantic dogs barking and howling all around him.
I wasn’t planning to adopt a dog but fate seemed to align to make it impossible not to. I signed the papers an hour before he was due to be put down.
As soon as we got in the Uber to the leave the shelter, he climbed into my lap and clung on for dear life, and he’s been wrapped around me every second he possibly could be since then. He now loves touch and seeks affection from anyone who might offer him some.
He has grown into the sweetest, silliest, most affectionate boy you could ever imagine. You’ll find him mentioned a lot in my karma because he loves people so much and loves when he gets to stick around for sessions (though not a requirement of course). A giant weighted blanket who wants nothing more than to love and be loved (and to play tug for 23.5 hours a day and eat chicken nuggets and whipped cream from a can).
Looking at the photo from the day I adopted him on 11/11/2025 next to a photo of him from today, 365 days later, makes me cry thinking of how close I was to never knowing him. He was a big, scary death row dog. I was encouraged to pick a different dog. A “better” dog. I’m forever grateful that I listened to my gut on this one. He’s a 95 lb pit-bull / mastiff mix and a lot of people are intimidated by his size and breed upon first glance, but he greets all people with love and affection, despite having a million reasons not to. There’s a lesson there somewhere. To not let the sorrows and traumas of the past determine how we choose to live or to love. To not allow ourselves to harden despite having countless reasons to do so. To stay open, to stay curious, to stay where the love and the light is, whenever possible.
I’m so proud of how far he’s come and I’m the luckiest to get to spend my life with him. My best friend.
Just wanted to share his story.
Please feel free to share your own!
11/11/2025:
11/11/2026:
