A rescue centre has shared the touching moment a dog, who is still waiting for a home, rested his head in his rescuer’s hand.
There’s countless dogs in need of homes, with many shelters and kennels up and down the country at capacity. There’s also several rescue organisations working with strays found abroad to bring them to the UK, so people considering getting a dog are positively spoilt for choice.
Though many people weigh up the massive decision of welcoming a dog into their families, they often opt for puppies. Older dogs, living in kennels, can sometimes find themselves spending years waiting for their forever home.
One centre’s “gentle” dog, a mixed breed named Ice, caused a stir after a heart-warming and emotive video was shared on Facebook. The footage showed him gently laying his head in the palm of a rescuer’s hand while she stroked his face.
Ice is around five-years-old and was rescued from a public shelter in Romania by Oakwood Dog Rescue. He’s a large boy with a cream coloured coat and a “gentle but playful” demeanour.
On his profile page, Oakwood Dog Rescue explained: “He arrived wagging his tail and enjoying lots of fusses. He has been nothing but a gentleman since he has been with us.”
In the caption accompanying the sweet footage, the rescue centre penned: “Our gentle giant Ice enjoying some chin strokes. He hopes that one day he’ll be able to get an infinite amount of strokes in his forever home.”
People shared their thoughts in the comments section. One person said: “Aww he makes my heart melt – wish I was in a position for him. He’s soo handsome and cute.”
Another shared: “He’s beautiful hope he finds his forever home soon”, while a third commented: “Omg he’s gorgeous but I’ve got 3 rescues already!! Shared with hope”.
Someone else said: “What a beautiful boy” while another added: “Such a beautiful dog”.
Ice is still looking for a forever home. He can live with children over the age of 14 as he can be quite “boisterous”, but he’s never lived in a home so will need some training. During his time at the rescue centre, he’s been introduced to a few dogs – a male, a female and a puppy – and has been “gentle but playful with all”. He’s not yet been tested with cats.
If you think you can offer Ice a suitable home, click here for more details about him, his needs, and how to begin the adoption process.
Before getting a dog, it’s important to do your research. It’s also worth bearing in mind that training is essential, and not all dogs are suitable for first time owners.
If you’re in a position to get a dog, and have weighed up the considerable time, effort, care and consistency they require, it can be very rewarding to choose to rescue a dog from a shelter or kennel.