PHILADEPLHIA, Pa. (KTHV) – A photo of a newly adopted pit bull cuddled up with his owner is touching hearts all over the nation.
The original photo was shared thousands of times on Facebook after a regular Philadelphia shelter volunteer fell in love with a dog that was brought in.
Kayla Filoon, 20, has been walking dogs at ACCT Philly, an animal shelter in Philadelphia, since last summer. She said it gets hard sometimes because of how easy it is to get attached to every dog.
“I have said how I wanted to adopt for the past year; however, it was never the right time or circumstances,” said Filoon.
But about two weeks ago, the kennels were so full that the shelter had to put down about 15 dogs due to lack of space. That is when Kayla met Russ. He is a four-year-old pit bull who was suffering from severe skin allergies and kennel cough when he was brought in from the streets.
“I saw him in the midst of all these dogs causing commotion, but he was just sitting there like the little angel that he is.”
When she finally took him out for a walk, she fell in love.
“I knew it was meant to be. I went back the next day and walked a few more dogs just to be sure that Russ really was the special one.”
She ended up adopting him that evening, and they have been inseparable ever since.
Now, Russ doesn’t have a worry in the world. His mom is helping him recover from his skin allergies with medicated shampoo baths, which he doesn’t seem to mind.
If his photos are any indication, Russ is quite grateful for his forever home.
