From the archives: This story was last updated in July 2019.
When Sacramento firefighter Mike Thawley discovered an abandoned pit bull puppy alone and shivering out in the rain one October, he couldn’t bear to leave her where she was in the awful weather.She had been tied up to a post, but no one was around to come back for her—leaving her for what had likely been far too long without a way to escape and get food or a dry place to sleep.
Chunky had been malnourished and covered in mange, a skin disease occurring often in dogs caused by parasitic mites, when Thawley found her out on the streets.
Thankfully, Front Street was able to start providing some much-needed medical care and nutritional attention. But even though she was now warm and dry with food to eat, the stray clearly missed the man who had saved her from the streets and brought her in from the rain.
Luckily for Chunky, that wasn’t the last she'd see of Thawley. He stopped by the shelter the next day to see how she was doing—and her reaction when she sees him again is too cute for words!
The bond between Chunky and Thawley, though, was on another level of cuteness—so it wasn’t a big surprise when he admitted that he had caved and was speaking to his family about fostering the adorable, loving pit bull. Ultimately, his request won out with his family, and he was able to bring Chunky home!
The family agreed to foster Chunky while she recovered from her skin condition, giving her a love-filled and attentive shelter until she was ready to be formally adopted.
As plenty of social media users were quick to point out, this looked like a “fostering failure” in the making—meaning that this temporary situation looked primed to become a permanent one before long.
“I have a feeling that is not going to be called ‘Fostering’ for long. More like fur-ever home,” one user wrote.
“I hope they fall in love with their foster pup. I always end up adopting mine!” said another.
It took a few months, but in the end, Chunky officially got her forever home—and sure enough, it was right where she wanted to be.
The heartbreaking reality is that pit bulls like Chunky tend to make up a disproportionate number of animals that end up in situations like these, as difficult housing regulations and negative perceptions surrounding the breed often scare owners off and result in abandonments.
For this adorable, furry friend, though, it looks like what started out as a heartbreaking set of circumstances has resulted in plenty of love and affection to go around!
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