‘Meant to be’: Pennsylvania shelter dog finds forever home after 7 years of waiting

It took seven years for Ella, a rescue dog at the Animal Resource Center in Bloomsburg, to find her forever home. A special link between Ella and her new person shows the match was meant to be.

As animal adoption stories go, the story of Ella the rescue dog belongs in the tearjerker hall of fame.

Ella had been at the Animal Resource Center in Bloomsburg for seven years, waiting to find her forever home. Late last month, a woman named Kaitlyn contacted the shelter about meeting Ella for a potential adoption. Kaitlyn told the shelter that her dog, Jo, had passed away several months ago and felt she was ready for another dog.

According to the shelter, Ella commonly displayed signs of fear aggression and took a while to grow comfortable with people. Upon meeting Kaitlyn, however, she instantly warmed up, and went over to her for scratches and pets. 

As the pair bonded, the shelter said Kaitlyn began crying and kept looking down at Ella’s neck. She then pulled up a picture of her late dog Jo wearing a bandana, revealing a special connection to Ella.

“This bandana that Ella is wearing, it’s Jo’s,” Kaitlyn told shelter staff. “I donated them all here when he passed. I like to think of it as Jo’s stamp of approval, knowing it was meant to be.”

After seven long years, Ella finally found her person and was adopted by Kaitlyn. The adoption story was so moving, it was picked up by the popular social media account We Rate Dogs.

@weratedogs

How this person’s late dog sent her a new best friend. 14/10 #weratedogs

♬ Metamorphosis – Danilo Stankovic

With Ella finally off to her forever home, the Animal Resource Center bid its longtime resident a fond farewell.

“Every morning, Ella used to pop up off her bed and greet you at the door of her kennel right away,” the shelter wrote on Facebook. “We’ll miss that tomorrow. It’ll be such a bittersweet moment realizing that as we pause to reflect on a few of our favorite times with Ella. But, my goodness, the amount of pure happiness we will feel everyday knowing Ella finally got what she deserved: ELLA GOT ADOPTED.”