#NationalRescueDogDay - The Story Of How Thor Came To Live With Us

Today is #NationalRescueDogDay! While our semi-adopted monster baby (as we like to call him) Thor isn’t quite a rescue, he almost was. He’s such a great dog and we’ve grown to love him so much that I literally get a little sad when I think Thor almost ended up in a shelter. Why? Because most of the large animal shelters in the Houston area that are top of mind for most people are kill shelters, including BARC, the Houston SPCA, and the Houston Human Society, among others.

According to nokillhouston.org, the save rates (i.e. the percentage of animals leaving the shelter alive) for the aforementioned shelters were about 76% for BARC, 35% for the Houston SPCA, and 11% for the Houston Humane Society. So as you can see, a large percentage of animals taken into these shelters end up euthanized.

We wanted to share how Thor ended up in our home in hopes it highlights the fact that many great pets end up shelters not because they’re bad, but often because of tough luck or difficult circumstances, and to encourage you to #adoptdontshop. Honestly, at least once a week the thought pops up in my mind of how sad Thor would’ve been in a shelter, or how it could’ve ended up worse for him.

So how did we end up “accidentally” adopting an 80 lb pitbull? Well his “biological” parents Jason and Melinda moved to Vietnam a few years ago for work opportunities. It was never meant to be a permanent move, but it was long-term without a definite timeline for when they would return. Jason and Melinda got Thor as a puppy when they were in college, and when they moved to Vietnam Thor was a homeless vagabond. Jason and Melinda would ask friends to dogsit for a few weeks to a few months at a time, but no one could keep him long term. It didn’t help that Thor is a large pitbull, and many apartment complexes and landlords have breed and size restrictions, so Thor bounced around from place to place.

After a while Thor ended back at Jason’s mom’s house. Over time Jason’s mom started having trouble taking care of Thor. Physically he’s just too strong for her, and it’s hard to enforce rules and boundaries if you can’t physically control him when you have to. So, Thor started acting out and misbehaving a little. There’s a story of Thor getting on top of the couch and then going #2 while standing on the couch. There’s another story of him running upstairs of the house (where he’s not allowed) and going #1. It’s important to note Thor is properly house trained and can hold it for 12+ hours, but this just shows what happens when he thinks he’s in charge.

Eventually it became too much for Jason’s mom to handle, and she started telling Jason she was going to take Thor to the shelter (or at least put him up for adoption). This was around October/November 2018, right when Christina and I moved into our current spot. We had no plans to get any pets, but Jason texted (maybe called?) Christina borderline freaking out because his mom was threatening to give Thor up. Jason told us it would only be 2 weeks, until he could find a permanent solution for Thor.

Well 2 weeks turned into 4 weeks, and Jason still couldn’t find anyone to take Thor. When 4 weeks turned into 2.5 months, Christina and I were basically like, “Welp, I guess Thor is ours now.” So, we told Jason Thor could just stay with us indefinitely until he moved back from Vietnam.

And that’s the story of how we accidentally ended up adopting an 80 lb pitbull. And we have no ragrets. Seriously, this dog is the best, and we’re so happy to have him.

But there are many other dogs out there that end up in shelters at no fault of their own. So if you’re looking for a furry companion, consider adopting one rather than buying from a breeder. You just might end up saving a life =)

BONUS: For a list of no-kill shelters and rescue groups, see the list on nokillhouston.org.

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Christina Tran and Jon “Cabby” Caballero are REALTORS® and licensed real estate agents in Houston, TX. Together, we’re the Chris & Cab Real Estate Team – native Houstonians and local real estate agents servicing the following Houston neighborhoods: the Houston Heights, Montrose, Museum District, Midtown, Rice University / West University, Memorial, River Oaks, Cottage Grove, Garden Oaks, East Downtown (Eado) and East End, Spring, Cypress, Pearland, Friendswood, Clear Lake, and more!