Dog Adopted, Then She Finds Herself Back at the Same Shelter 12 Years Later

Lola, a small dog now estimated to be about 13 years old, was recently brought back to the same animal shelter where records show she first arrived in 2014. Shelter staff at that earlier intake believed she was roughly a year old and she was adopted from that facility; about 12 years later she was surrendered again and her return drew attention when a rescue shared her story online. Caitie’s Foster Fam Rescue learned of Lola after the shelter posted her intake details. According to the rescue’s Instagram post on May 23 under @caitiesfosterfamrescue, a person brought Lola in saying they had taken her from a previous owner and could no longer care for her because of “medical reasons.” Lola was microchipped but no owner came forward to reclaim her. The rescue’s founder, Caitlin Evers, told Newsweek that the group stepped in and moved Lola into a foster home in Houston, Texas. In foster care, Lola is beginning to relax after the upheaval, but she also faces health needs: she tested positive for heartworm and has a mass on one of her paws that requires veterinary evaluation and treatment. Evers said Lola will be made available for adoption once she’s receiving the care she needs and is ready for a permanent home. Lola’s situation highlights how jarring a return to shelter life can be for an older dog. Research published in Physiology & Behavior has found that dogs entering shelters often show higher cortisol levels and stress behaviors such as panting, pacing and vocalizing, and that even brief, calm human attention can reduce those stress markers. Shelter-medicine experts at UC Davis note that longer kennel stays are linked with increased illness, stress and declines in behavior. Senior dogs like Lola are frequently overlooked despite many being house-trained and calm; studies have found age strongly predicts length of stay, with senior dogs remaining in shelters about seven days longer than adult dogs (and adult dogs about five days longer than juveniles). Other research shows foster care can be transformative: a 2023 analysis across more than 27,000 dogs found that spending one or more nights in foster care made dogs more than 14 times as likely to be adopted and helped reduce shelter-related stress. Caitie’s Foster Fam Rescue has vowed to give Lola a second chance, and those moved by her story can follow the rescue’s updates on Instagram at @caitiesfosterfamrescue and consider supporting or fostering senior pets to improve their chances of a peaceful, permanent home.