A seven-year-old Staffordshire Terrier mix named Capone waited for a forever family until he was the very last dog at the Ionia County Animal Shelter. But good things come to those who wait, and this dog was about to be rewarded for his patience.

Capone was originally adopted shortly after arriving at the shelter in 2017 but was returned a year later after getting into it with another dog visiting his home. Now in his second stint at the shelter, Capone became depressed and stopped eating.

The poor boy was heartbroken and scared of being rejected again. He was a completely different dog this time around compared to the one who came into the shelter a year ago.

Capone became very attached to the shelter staff and always wanted to be touching someone. They called him a “velcro dog.”

The shelter set out to find Capone a house without pets, and they knew it would be challenging. The workers posted his picture and story on social media to make everyone aware that Capone was ready to be adopted. And it happened.

A couple messaged their Facebook page inquiring about Capone. They fell in love with his story and photos and just had to have him. They arrived at the shelter later that day with a custom name tag already made up for him!

But the staff realized how picky Capone had become after having his heart broken before. So they were cautiously optimistic that he would take to the couple. Capone walked out and looked at Jon and Ashlee, and when they knelt down, he ran right into their arms. 🙂

The loneliest dog at the shelter finally found his people and forever home, and the staff was ecstatic about it. They’d been with him through it all, and everything was finally paying off.

When Capone got home and settled in, his new parents snapped a photo revealing a huge smile on his face. He was relieved.

“Look at that smile,” shelter volunteer Sammie Vincent said on Facebook. “Us shelter staff actually cried tears of joy for Capone.”