Imagine living in a noisy dog kennel for 400 days if seven days seems like a long time. That’s how long Queen, a terrier mix, lived at the Great Plains SPCA in Merriam, Kansas. Even though Queen was three years old and as sweet as can be, she’d been overlooked time and again during those long months in the shelter. Scott Poore, an animal activist, decided enough was enough one day in September.
Scott runs the “Mission Driven” organization, which organizes and promotes fundraisers for animal shelters. He decided to do whatever he could to bring attention to the homeless pup after hearing about how depressed Queen had become from living in the shelter for so long.He was even more determined to help her find her forever home after meeting her. Queen is “the most affectionate lovable dog I probably have ever worked with,” according to Scott, and he should know.
After publicly moving into Queen’s kennel, he ended up spending a lot of one-on-one time with her.Scott brought some belongings and bedding with him, which he shared with Queen. He was adamant about staying with her until she was adopted. She found her forever home after seven days and seven nights!”I honestly did not know if I was going to be there for 24 hours or a month, but I was prepared to do either,” he said.
“I have to admit, seven nights in an animal shelter is a long time.”As you might expect, animal shelters are not ideal places to rest. Scott admitted that he barely slept during his seven days in the kennel: “Between all the animals barking and Queen waking me up every hour on the hour with her rope toy wanting to play.” But Scott’s efforts were rewarded when a father and son from the Kansas City area saw a report about Queen and her new roommate and decided to step forward and adopt her.
“I just want to thank them for opening up their home and their hearts to such an incredible dog who deserves to live a long and happy life in a loving home,” he said. “I had the pleasure of meeting the father and son, and it will be the ideal home for them and Queen.” It’s a win-win situation for both parties.”When asked why he didn’t just adopt Queen, he explained that as an animal advocate, he comes into contact with needy animals every day.
“I can’t adopt every animal I help because then I’d have 1,000 animals in my house,” Scott explained.Once Queen had found her people, this dog lover went on to find the next animal in need. “What helps me get through the emotional side of my work is that I move very quickly to the next animal [who] needs my help,” he explained.
We are grateful to people like Scott for speaking up for those who have no voice. In our opinion, the ultimate good deed is to be willing to sacrifice your own comfort for the happiness of an animal. Thank you very much, Scott! In the video below, Queen finally leaves the shelter after 400 days, and please share this story to spread some joy.