After 14 Failed Adoptions, Ronald the Puppy Finds His New Home

By: Tyler Connaghan | Last updated: Sep 26, 2023

North Carolina Mall, Kierstin Davis, knew she needed to act fast when she stumbled upon a now-viral Facebook post from her local shelter.

Luckily, her need to act fast gave her the greatest gift of all — the news that Ronald, an adorable little white puppy, was going to come home with her family.

Kierstin Davis Knew Something Needed to Be Done

Kierstin Davis, a 28-year-old North Carolina nurse, shared the story of how she found the cutest little 63-pound white puppy named Ronald and adopted him to bring home to the family, even after 14 failed adoptions in a matter of five weeks. 

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Source: SPCA OF WAKE COUNTY/FACEBOOK

Davis spoke with a reporter from The Washington Post, saying that she knew she had to do something after she saw a social media post from the SPCA of Wake County that went viral, looking for what would be the 15th home for little Ronald. 

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Kierstin Davis Knew Something Needed to Be Done

Kierstin Davis, a 28-year-old North Carolina nurse, shared the story of how she found the cutest little 63-pound white puppy named Ronald and adopted him to bring home to the family, even after 14 failed adoptions in a matter of five weeks. 

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Source: SPCA OF WAKE COUNTY/FACEBOOK

Davis spoke with a reporter from The Washington Post, saying that she knew she had to do something after she saw a social media post from the SPCA of Wake County that went viral, looking for what would be the 15th home for little Ronald. 

Ronald Was a One-Year-Old Mixed Breed

Ronald had already been through quite a bit with 14 failed adoptions, especially considering that he was only a year old.

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Source: SPCA OF WAKE COUNTY/FACEBOOK

This playful little puppy was transferred from a municipal shelter to the Wake County SPCA in Raleigh, North Carolina, a non-profit animal rescue. 

Ronald Became Part of the Family

Davis submitted her application on December 28 and received the positive news that Ronald, or as the family now calls him, “Ronny,” would be coming home with them on January 12th. 

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Source: SPCA OF WAKE COUNTY/FACEBOOK

Davis noted how good everything has been thus far, and that Ronald has had an excellent time adapting to everything at the house, including her children. “Ronald just fits in perfectly,” she said. 

He’s Been Incredibly Playful and Energetic

Davis Austin said that he had been very playful and energetic, which was one of the reasons he continued getting returned to the shelter.

Source: SPCA OF WAKE COUNTY/FACEBOOK

Samantha Ranlet, a spokesperson from the SPCA, told The Washington Post that Ronald was still working hard to develop his manners. He was still very clumsy and goofy, which was hard for people considering his relatively large size. 

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The Outlet Never Mentioned the Number of Families With Children

One of the things Ranlet never mentioned was the number of families that returned Ronald to happen to have children.

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Source: SPCA OF WAKE COUNTY/FACEBOOK

Having children during the dog adoption process can be a major deciding factor, especially when it comes to larger dogs like Ronald. Having a very playful, clumsy, and energetic puppy around young children can be worrisome for many parents. 

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Luckily, Social Media Was Able to Help the Process

Even though Ronald had gone through a long string of failed adoptions, the SPCA team had grown to love everything about Ronald. He was definitely a cutie.

Source: SPCA OF WAKE COUNTY/FACEBOOK

That’s when the team decided to take the matter to Facebook, putting out the word that Ronald’s luck had fallen through during more than 14 adoptions, mostly due to the fact that he was too large and too strong. 

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Ranlet Noted How Good Of a Boy He Was

However, Samantha made sure to make mention how good of a boy Ronald was. 

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Source: SPCA OF WAKE COUNTY/FACEBOOK

She noted that he was very sweet, took treats very gently, and knew all of the most important commands. She also said that even for his large frame, he only weighed 63 pounds. 

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Of Course, He Was Still a Puppy

Ronald was still very young, and playfulness was in his DNA. 

Source: happypup.petcare/ Facebook

They also noted that he might get excited, stand up with his paws on you, or nip, but it wasn’t aggressive in any way. He still had a lot to learn, and the team at SPCA was hoping it would be able to find a family that could teach Ronald beyond the basics.

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They Just Needed to Find a Willing Family

The Facebook post from the SPCA said that as long as the family adopting Ronald had “ sturdy footing,” they would have no problem caring for Ronald.

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Source: SPCA of Wake County/ Facebook

As an added benefit, Ronald was an excellent student. There’s nothing more in the world that he loved than treats, so he was always excited to learn and practice new tricks.

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More Than 800 Messages Flooded the SPCA Inbox

From the moment the post was put on Facebook, messages began rolling in from hopeful adoptees.

Source: SPCA of Wake County/ Facebook

In fact, by the time Kierstin found the post, it had already garnered more than 800 messages from other families who are hoping to take Ronald home. It was not going to be an easy win for Davis. 

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Davis Was One of Many Who Saw the Post

The post received thousands of likes, shares, and comments, and Davis was one of them. 

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Source: SPCA of Wake County/ Facebook

According to The Washington Post, she thought to herself, “there’s no way I’m going to get Ronald.”She surely thought that somebody was going to scoop him up quickly. Luckily, she decided to submit an application regardless. It’s a good thing that she did. 

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She Happened to Be First on the List

Davis and Ronald got lucky. She, along with her two young boys, seven and four, would get to take Ronald home and test him out.

Source: Facebook

Davis also happened to have an Australian shepherd, Billie, that she rescued a few years back, and she was hoping that he and Ronald would get along.

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When She Heard the News, She Left Work Right Away

Davis was initially put on a waitlist by the Wake County SPCA, though when they called her to tell her the latest adoption had fallen through, she knew she was in luck.

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Source: gggoldens.com

As soon as she received the call, she made sure to leave work early so she could drive to Raleigh and pick Ronald up to take him home.

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She Had to Agree to a Five-Week Trial to Start

The SPCA had Davis agree to a five-week trial with Ronald, so he could get accustomed to the family, and they could decide whether or not he was a good fit.

Source: goldwynns.com

Davis had not told her children that she was going to adopt Ronald prior, so when she came home to find them in the living room and showed them their new member of the family, she did not know what to expect. 

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The Family Loved Ronald

It was love at first sight. As soon as she walked through the door with Ronald, her kids screamed and excitement.

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Source: loveyourdog.com

Davis noted that as soon as she saw how excited her little ones were to see Ronald walking through the door, she knew that he was a perfect match and that he was going to stay with them. 

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The SPCA Celebrated Too

The Wake County SPCA was just as excited about Ronald’s successful adoption, sharing pics of the good boy with his brand new family.

Source: puppyintraining.com

The post read, “Ronald’s unlucky streak has ended!” You could tell by the pictures that Ronald was looking ecstatic with his brand-new family, and the kids were absolutely enamored by him. 

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Ronald Has Been Doing Great

A spokesperson from The Washington Post asked Samantha how everything had been going with Ronald at home since his adoption.

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Source: saymedia-content.com

Davis noted how great things had been going with Ronald there. He was a very playful and energetic addition to the family, but he fit in perfectly with her two little boys. 

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The SPCA Showed Their Appreciation

The SPCA noted how grateful they were in a recent social media post that so many people had shared Ronald’s story.

Source: stoneyridgegoldens.com

The post continued on, saying that the SPCA was overwhelmed by people’s generous offers to help Ronald and the encouraging words from those who are unable to provide homes for him.

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If It Wasn’t for Social Media, Ronald Might Have Never Found a Home

On the very first day the SPCA made their social media post, Ronald’s story reached more than one million people. 

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Source: goldwynns.com

In just one night, Ronald’s entire world changed. It is truly an amazing thing, how much power people have to change others’ lives with nothing but their keyboards, and Ronald was an excellent example of that. 

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Unfortunately, Stories Like Ronald’s Aren’t Uncommon

According to Union Lake Veterinary Hospital, about 10% of pets are returned to the shelter within the first few months of adoption.

Source: europeanretrievers.com

Two of the most prominent reasons for people needing to return their recently adopted pets are age and breed. Certain breeds may not be right for certain people’s lifestyles or living situations. 

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It’s Not Always the Fault of Adopting Families

There is a number of reasons why pet adoptions do not work out for some people, and it is important to note that just because adoption does not work out, does not mean it is the family’s fault.

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Source: a-z-animals.com

Adopting a pet can be a very complex situation with many things to consider, and trying to foresee how that adoption will work out can be difficult. 

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However, Doing Research Is Important

The important thing for a potential adopting family is to do research on a companion animal before and to see if their lifestyle meshes with the dog’s breed and age. 

Source: chadwicksgoldens.com

Many people say there are “good” and “bad” dog breeds, though that isn’t true in the slightest. Several factors play a role in a dog’s temperament, including training, upbringing, and former owners. 

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Families Have to Rehome Dogs for Several Reasons

There are many reasons dogs have to be rehomed.

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Source: Freepik

Some of the most common reasons include the dog does not get along with existing pets, the dog has separation anxiety or aggression, family members being allergic, the dog is hyperactive, the dog has health issues, or circumstances in life change, such as Financial stress, moving, or personal health problems. 

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Meet and Greets are Often Limited

Shelters often limit meet and greets to around 10-15 minutes. 

Source: Freepik

Some animals have such high demand, such as puppies, that even waiting a single day to consider whether or not you want to move forward with the adoption could leave them to get adopted by someone else. That is why it’s key to do your own research before adopting a dog and getting as much information from the shelter as you can. 

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Luckily, Social Media Helps

Without Facebook, Ronald may have never found his forever home.

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Source: Freepik

Nowadays, we see many success stories similar to Ronald’s, thanks to the fact that families were able to find their loving pets through social media posts, where they may have never found them otherwise. 

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