Dog whose near 5-year stay in shelter went viral finds permanent home in Boston
A dog who spent nearly five years in an animal shelter on the Virgin Islands has finally found a home in Boston — and he took a private plane and limo to get there.
Moose, a pit-bull mix who became known around the world after a social media campaign to get him adopted went viral, spent 1,628 days in the Animal Care Center of St. John after he was abandoned, according to a release from the shelter. In that time, he saw more than 160 other dogs come into the shelter and find homes. The prolonged time Moose spent in the shelter made him distressed, and volunteers had been working to socialize him by taking him on hikes and enrolling him in obedience school prior to his move to Massachusetts.
Now, he’s finally in Boston and getting ready for his new life with the Burke family. He traveled in style, taking a private plane with the Riggi family, who has visited the shelter in the past to adopt animals of their own and offered to cover Moose’s travel expenses, according to the release. After landing in New York, Moose was taken to a limo for the remainder of the journey.
“My family and I are beyond excited to be bringing Moose into our home,’’ Christine Burke, whose family adopted Moose, said in the release. “I have been following his story on Facebook since August but the timing wasn’t quite right then.’’
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Burke said that she had first heard of Moose just after her family’s 14-year-old pit-bull mix died, and wasn’t ready for a new dog. When Moose was still available months later, the Last Hope K9 Rescue, a Boston-based shelter, was screening applicants, and the Burke family passed.
“When I saw in December that Moose was coming to Massachusetts, I just knew it was meant to be,’’ Burke said. “My three daughters ask me every day about Moose and his arrival. We are so grateful to the Riggi family for offering to fly Moose home to us. Their generosity and love for animals is amazing.’’
A drawing of Moose by one of Burke’s daughters.
While heading to Massachusetts via limo Saturday, Moose’s ride was interrupted by the weekend’s winter storm, according to his Facebook page. The limo was stuck just minutes from the shelter where his new family was waiting, but it wasn’t long before someone stopped to help, giving the driver directions for an alternate route to the shelter.
Moose will spend 48 hours in the shelter — as required by Massachusetts law — before heading home to his family permanently Tuesday.
“This has been a team effort in that not only has the shelter worked on this, but volunteers, the adopters, his escorts, and Last Hope K9 Rescue,’’ Ryan Moore, the manager of the shelter where Moose has lived, said in the release. “He deserves to live a life with a loving family as does every dog, and we are just happy that this is finally happening. It has been a long road for him but we never gave up.’’
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