Happy Ending For Abused Dog Waiting 7 Months In Shelter For A Home

BRANFORD, CT — After waiting for more than seven months in the Dan Cosgrove Animal Shelter, Chip, the dog found in the dead of winter on the side of the road, starving, freezing and emaciated, finally has a family.

Cared for since his February rescue by the staff of the shelter, Chip was adopted this weekend.

In a post to Facebook, it's noted that a family who are "friends" of the shelter visited Chip a number of times over the weekend, and it was "collectively decided they were each other’s missing pieces, so yesterday afternoon through many tears of happiness, joy, and gratefulness our Chippy boy went home," staff wrote on Facebook.

"We are so thankful to Maria and Andy for opening up their home and their hearts to another extremely needy and traumatized but so well-deserving pup! We know you will love and cherish him and help him understand what it’s like to be a real family member and heal from his past ..."

Patch spoke to Maria Fellows about her and her golf pro husband Andy Fellow's decision to apply to adopt Chip.

"Oh my God, this dog! His face was so sweet!"

It turns out, the couple, who just a few years ago moved from Arizona to Branford, are perpetual rescue dogs owners. Sadly though, their fourth and most recent rescue, a dog named Titan, passed away in July.

"We said, 'We're done. We've had four good dogs,'" Maria shared.

And she agreed that in many cases, and indeed in the case of Titan, rescued dogs may come with some emotional issues. "Titan he was a lot," she said, noting he had anxiety. "But we absolutely loved him to death."

Maria said it had been many months since she had been on Facebook when, last Thursday, she saw a post about Chip. Having donated all of Titan's stuff to the Cosgrove Animal Shelter earlier this summer after he passed, Maria was very familiar with the shelter.

"Oh my God, this dog! His face was so sweet," she said. And then had a feeling: "Titan brought him to us!"

She asked her husband Andy to "indulge me on this," given they already decided no more dogs.

She called DCAS, asked if they could visit Chip. They didn't have high expectations, as "Chip was so used to the staff he may not even come over to us."

"But we came in, and he walked right over to us and sat down," she said. And so they applied to adopt Chip and knew there were two other applicants. But Maria figured what was meant to be would be. They went back on Sunday, and handed in the application — after getting a letter of recommendation from their veterinarian and an OK from their landlord.

It wasn't lost on the couple that a golf pro was hoping to adopt a dog named Chip. Maybe that was a good sign as they waited for word from the shelter following another applicants' visit,

Then the news: "You've just adopted Chip!"

"We went to Pet Smart. We were just so excited. We brought him home, and he slept on my slippers," Maria said, adding that Andy is also thrilled.

"We're the same. We wouldn't have done this otherwise. He adores Chip."

Original story:

Last February, he was found on the side of the road, starving and freezing. Emaciated, he should have weighed close to 70 pounds, a vet said, but weighed just 37 when found. Read that story here.

The dog that the Dan Cosgrove Animal Shelter staff, named Chip, was loved and brought back to good health.

But, like another dog who'd lived at the shelter for months, Thor, it's been more than 210 days for Chip. He waits and watches as other animals are adopted and leave the shelter for their forever homes.

The DCAS Facebook post is heartbreaking.

The issue for Shelter staff is that folks who applied to adopt Chip and were approved, did not show up for him.

"It is such a let-down for us who are so hoping for this gorgeous guy to get a forever home," DCAS wrote on. "People do this all the time, and it makes us so sad because you should at least call us to say you are not coming in or are no longer interested or adopted elsewhere."

And so Chip "waits and watches every day as others find their forever home ...families excited to come see their pups, and he thinks maybe they are there for him, but once he realizes they aren’t he curls back up on his bed."

Chip is described as likely a Bulldog pit mix, as he is a "low rider."

"He is a lower energy level dog. He is 5 years old and neutered, vaccinated and microchipped. Chip was abused and needs an adopter with lots of love and tenderness to give. He would do best as an only pet for now but once he understands the world he may like to live with another dog, but no cats please."