With such an overwhelming number of dogs awaiting rescue, shelters have an increasingly difficult time marketing individual adoptable dogs. Often it takes a unique approach, which Global News figured out with their weekly adoptable pet segment. They figured giving available dogs the spotlight would increase their chances of finding forever homes. In one particular case, they were definitely right.
The network’s special guest of the day was a 1-year-old Mastiff mix named Ripple. Weatherman Mike Sobel let the large dog be his co-host, happy to share the airtime if it meant his TV appearance would get Ripple adopted.
Ripple has no experience with weather reports, so he takes the opportunity to play a little leash tug-of-war with his co-host… on live TV. This makes delivering the temperatures pretty difficult for Sobel. In Ripple’s defense, no one told him the weather report doesn’t require playing around.
Sobel tries to get Ripple to sit down, but the pup is not about that.
“Ripple’s not sitting, that’s for sure.”
Ripple turns out to be one heck of a wrestler. He has no plans to loose a tug-of-war match with Sobel. He’s pretty strong too, nearly dragging Sobel off screen with him.
Sobel is a professional and continues trying to give the weather report, though even he can’t resist giggling at the dog’s antics. I wouldn’t be surprised if the show’s ratings skyrocketed as a result of this performance!
Sobel has a pup of his own, so untimely horseplay isn’ entirely foreign to him. He could put up with a little rowdiness if it meant Ripple getting adopted.
“I’ve probably been doing those segments for about 15 years and I can certainly say this was the most rambunctious dog that I’ve come across. But the bottom line was… I wanted to get that dog adopted.”
The day following the hilarious broadcast, Ripple found his forever home with some fans. The excited new parents Dennis and Susan Paulsen from Alberta told Global News they’re used to large playful dogs.
“He seems to be a little out of control but nothing we haven’t seen before.”
It seems like Ripple is truly set for life. He’s got a family ready to handle his energy.
“We’re big for rescuing dogs. With the property we have and a playmate ready to go, we’re so excited about getting him home.”
The Paulsens are so glad they happened to be watching the news that day.
“We’re thankful for him being on the show because, without that, we wouldn’t have known he was here.”
The video of Sobel and Ripple’s “weather report” was such a hit it made the rounds all over the internet, even earning a share on Ellen Degeneres’ Facebook page. It now has over 2.5 million views on YouTube.
Obviously you have to watch the entire video too and you can do that below:
H/T: Buzzfeed
Featured Image: Screenshot, Global News/YouTube
Toledo, United States.
