iHeartDogs works closely with Greater Good Charities to donate a portion of sales to their various charity efforts. Through the Rescue Bank program, thousands of shelter dogs and cats each year are able to have food, provided by Greater Good Charities. Thanks to the support of customers like you, happy endings like the one below are made possible.

Otto the American Staffordshire Terrier was abandoned and all alone in rural southern Colorado when he ran into some trouble. 

He was so hungry — and that’s when he found an animal that he was going to hunt to try and ease his hunger. But that animal ended up being a porcupine. 

When rescuers with the San Luis Valley Animal Welfare Society found Otto, his face was just full of quills. The poor dog had been unable to eat for likely weeks — and one quill had even penetrated his eye. 

He must have been scared and in so much pain. But thanks to the kind rescuers, he was finally safe. Otto needed to undergo four different surgeries to remove the quills once he was back at the rescue center. 

After that ordeal, Otto settled in at the shelter, hoping to find his forever home. The days passed, and before he and the shelter staff knew it, it had been two and a half years. 

“No one wanted him because he was an American Staffordshire Terrier,” the shelter staff told iHeartDogs.

Like many pit bulls, Otto was passed over time and time again by potential adopters because of his breed. All he wanted was love — and it was clear to the shelter staff that he would make the perfect dog for the right family out there. They didn’t give up hope for Otto.

“Otto is a love,” the shelter staff said. “He doesn’t have a mean bone in his body. At our shelter, he was able to run loose every day. We brought him to Petco Colorado Springs adoption fairs every single Saturday. People enjoyed his humorous tactics.”

But finally, after years of waiting for the perfect family to find him, Otto’s time had come. 

“Finally, an adopter who had adopted a pit mix from us 3 years ago and lost him due to cancer, adopted Otto,” the shelter staff said. “It was love at first sight. Otto has the best home ever as an only dog, parents to love him and two teens to give him lots of attention.”

In the area the shelter is located in, it is very impoverished and there aren’t many supplies readily available. Donors are sparse as well.  But thanks to Greater Good Charities Rescue Bank, which supplies food to shelters in need, the San Luis Valley Animal Welfare Society was able to feed Otto and hundreds of other dogs over the years. 

“Had it not been for the Rescue Bank to feed our dogs, we would not have saved 9,000 dogs and cats in the past 12 years,” the shelter staff said. “We and our dogs are most grateful for your help.”

H/T: San Luis Valley Animal Welfare Society

Featured Image: Provided by San Luis Valley Animal Welfare Society

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