Dog who spent over 200 days in a Florida shelter gets adopted
ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. - Tonka the dog finally has a home after spending 200 days with Orange County Animals Services.
Tonka was surrendered to the shelter back in April and since then has been adopted and returned twice, through no fault of his own.
The shelter said Tonka was found abandoned in the backyard of a home in the Conway area in April. The owner was reportedly tracked down and told Animal Services officers that they had moved and had trouble finding housing for the dog.
After six months at the shelter, Tonka was adopted but was returned a week later. He was adopted again in November but was returned just hours later because the landlord said he was not welcome to stay.
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“We’ve struggled to find that lasting match for him because he has shown that he needs to be the only dog in the home, a factor that drastically limits the pool of interested adopters, and he has heartworm disease, a treatable condition, but one that can come with a stigma due to lack of understanding.”
Tonka’s heartworm disease treatment costs are sponsored by a local civil engineering group – John B. Webb & Associates.
“Earlier this year we made a desperate plea to the community looking for a home for Rocket who, like Tonka, had been with us in excess of 200 days,” said Summers. “The response from local media and on social media was overwhelming, and it helped land Rocket is forever home within a day. We are hoping Tonka can be just as fortunate, he is definitely just as deserving.”
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Thankfully, the adorable pooch found a home after 215 days at Orange County Animals Service. On Saturday, he was adopted and will hopefully never have to leave the comfort of a home again.
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