Michelle and Joel adopted Toro about a year ago after he had been at Last Hope for about a year just waiting to meet them.

Toro is, let’s say “experienced,” and so he has some trouble getting moving after lying down for a while. But he loves his walks where he lives now in Pennsylvania and welcomes all the great smells – deer, rabbits, squirrels, etc. He is a shameless beggar but has learned “leave it” very well. Toro learns new things very quickly and was even regularly used as a good example in the obedience class they attended before moving from Iowa.

When he first came to live with Michelle and Joel, they learned that he didn’t like being reached for when he’s relaxed. But, “We have really earned his trust through simply respecting his boundaries, so he no longer respects ours – and we love it! He loves to cuddle and initiates it on a daily basis.”

Toro is described as a “perfect gentleman” by the people at the kennel who care for him when his parents go out of town. When they drop him off, he walks right up and shoves his head into laps for scratches!

Before they adopted Toro, they had lost their beloved friend, Rocky. Although no “new” dog ever takes the place of the ones we’ve lost, Toro stepped in and helped fill the gap they felt after losing the best friend they had for eight years.

We are thankful for families like Michelle and Joel who take the time to learn their dog’s boundaries so they can be comfortable and feel loved in their homes. They understood it might take a little while for Toro to get settled and for them to learn his likes and dislikes but they had the patience to give him his space. They were rewarded for that when he started reaching out to them and always wanting to be with them. Thank you, Michelle and Joel, for giving Toro such a wonderful place to land.