‘I truly feel like Charley picked me’: Woman adopts dog no one wanted, then discovers something heartbreaking

A 13-year-old chihuahua with serious behavior problems finally found a home after being passed over by people who wanted to adopt him. The dog, named Charley, was staying at Lil Paws, Big Hearts Chihuahua Rescue in Columbia, Missouri when Kelly Sites visited the shelter in 2023.

Sites is 39 years old and lives in Kansas City, Missouri, as per Newsweek. She decided to focus on adopting older dogs after her two pets died when she was in college. When she got to the rescue, something unexpected happened. Charley ran straight to her, jumped on her lap, and licked her face. The people at the rescue were shocked because Charley was usually mean to people.

“I truly feel like Charley picked me, and after thinking about it for a day, I went back the next day and adopted him,” Sites said. The shelter told her that Charley’s owner had probably died or gone to a nursing home, which is why the family gave him up. Because he never learned to trust people, he acted badly around them and no one wanted to take him home.

Things were rough at first

Sites did not care about the warnings. She felt connected to Charley right away. But the first few months were hard. When they went for walks, Charley would try to bite anyone who came near them. He would growl and snap at strangers. Sites got help from a dog trainer who works with mean dogs, and it helped her learn how to take care of Charley better.

Not long after bringing him home, Sites found a bump on his belly. It was cancer and he needed an operation to remove it. The good news was that she found it early and it had not spread to other parts of his body. Charley is now healthy and eats organic chicken, sweet potatoes, and food made for older dogs.

Charley is now 15 years old and has changed a lot since Sites adopted him. He is much better around people and other dogs now. He does not try to bite strangers anymore when they go outside. 

Sites lets him take his time getting used to new people and does not push him. He loves going for walks, eating rotisserie chicken and Vietnamese food, and playing with his toy animals. Like a Houston woman who accidentally discovered what her dog really thinks about her leaving, Sites has learned that paying attention to what her pet needs has made their relationship stronger.

Sites posted videos about Charley on TikTok and one of them got more than 28,800 views and over 6,200 likes. She was surprised by how many people responded to their story. She wants other people to think about adopting older dogs too. Sometimes the best discoveries happen when we share our experiences, and Sites hopes that showing Charley’s story will help other senior dogs find homes.