If you’ve been to the Habersham County Animal Shelter this year, you’ve probably met Grado— and he’s hard to forget. With a sweet face, happy tail and plenty of kisses to go around, it’s shocking he’s still waiting on fur-ever.
Grado, a male terrier mix, came to the animal shelter in December of 2021. He’s currently the longest-staying resident at the shelter, with nearly four months of waiting behind him. Grado spent Christmas, the new year and Valentine’s Day, the days where many other pets get to feel extra-special seasonal love from their families, alone in a kennel.
“I’m loved and cared for here at the shelter, but it isn’t the same as it would be with a family,” Grado tells Now Habersham. “Watching everyone else, especially my playmates, leave to find homes, or get adopted here at the shelter, is hard to see.”
Grado hasn’t been able to go on any of Habersham County Animal Care and Control’s successful rescue transports because he’s heartworm positive. While he’s receiving treatment and doing well, because of his health, he can’t go to a rescue facility to find a home. That means he has to wait in Habersham, hoping someone will give him a chance.
“I don’t give up hope on being adopted, and I don’t give up on healing,” Grado says. “It’s who I am, I know things get better, and I know that in every day, even the bad ones, there’s something good in them. So while waiting here and watching everyone else leave hurts, knowing that I might make a new friend, getting to run around outside and play, getting a new toy— it helps me hold out longer.”
Grado continues to hold out hope each and every day, waiting at the door of his kennel and greeting each person that walks by, ready for the moment someone decides to take him home.
“I’ve gotten really good at waiting, and I think that makes me even more of a good boy,” Grado says. “I’m gentle, patient, full of love, ready to make new friends and go new places. I really think that if someone could give me a chance, they’ll still see that I have a heart, even if it’s a little different than some other dogs’.”
If you’re interested in adopting Grado or any of the other animals at the Habersham County Animal Shelter, please call the shelter at (706) 839-0195 to set up an appointment. You may also visit them in person Tuesday-Friday from 10 a.m. to Noon & 1-5 p.m. or on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Check out their Facebook page for more information.
