Animals, like humans, don’t always have the best start to life.
Many are abandoned as puppies, left to fend for themselves in the wild. Toby, a terrier, had been through a similar past life as a pup.
Born in South Korea, Toby had an owner for a few years – until they decided he wasn’t worth keeping around.
They took Toby away from everything he knew and loved, and the poor pup was left to find help on his own.
Fortunately, his travels took him to a car repair shop, and the owner drove him over to a local animal shelter. But the shelter was so full that Toby had no choice but to sleep in one of the outdoor kennels.
Toby’s story, however, was far from over.
A charity called Band for Animal, which rescues dogs from the Korean meat trade, flew Toby to America to be fostered.
His foster family, the Hoangs, fell in love with the scruffy little guy. Toby initially had a hard time warming to his new parents – understandably, considering how much he had gone through already.
Thankfully, the Hoangs had a lot of patience and persevered with Toby, even when he wouldn’t leave his crate.
They were determined to show the pup that they had only love to give to him, and that he was in a safe place now.
Speaking to The Dodo about how Toby began to warm to her family, even to her uncertain husband, Ann Hoang said:
“At first, my husband was unsure of Toby because he was very timid and also this was our very first foster experience. However, by the [first] evening, Toby had sat down next to my husband and he looked up at him with his puppy dog eyes, and my husband saw the kindness of God in Toby’s face. Toby seemed to attach to my husband pretty quickly from there on out.”
As the weeks passed, Toby’s confidence soared. Not only did he have a new best friend in his human dad, but he also became fast friends with his dog sibling, Charlie.
But the Hoangs were only supposed to be fostering Toby for a short while – and the adoption requests started to come in.
Ann was at a crossroads. It had never been her family’s intention to keep Toby for life, but when she looked at the pup’s relationship with her husband, she knew that the universe had decided for her.
So Ann hatched a plan: she would secretly adopt Toby and surprise her husband with the news.
Before Ann could officially adopt Toby, a charity volunteer had to carry out a home check – a potential giveaway!
But the volunteer was happy to be in on the surprise and posed as a potential adopter. After looking around the house, the volunteer handed Ann’s husband a card.
As instructed, he read the card aloud. Before he could finish, he began to sob and hug Toby close to his chest.
The card, of course, said that the Hoangs would be adopting Toby, and the pup would stay with them for life!
Speaking about why she made the decision to adopt Toby, Ann said:
“My husband is such a giving person, always putting others before himself. He’s never really asked for anything or wanted anything badly. Toby was the first experience where I could see he would be heartbroken without him.”
The video of Ann’s husband’s surprise has made it onto YouTube, and it’s well worth a watch.
If you haven’t seen it yet, you can watch it below – just beware, it’s a tear-jerker!
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