A senior dog who was found running along a California freeway is seeking a new home after being cruelly rejected by his previous owner.
Lisa Arden regularly fosters senior pups through Muttville Senior Dog Rescue, a San Francisco-based nonprofit focused solely on the fostering and adoption of rescue dogs aged 7 and over.
In a video posted to her TikTok channel, allthefosterpups, Arden detailed how she has recently started fostering a 10-year-old terrier mix named Kino, who, as she puts it, has "already been through more than most dogs." He was found "scared and alone" in the most alarming of situations.
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"Kino was found back in June running along the freeway in Oakland, California," Arden told Newsweek. "He was taken to Oakland Animal Services. They contacted his owner, who told the shelter they no longer wanted him back."
Kino was fostered by another family for a few weeks before coming into Arden's care. Very little is known about his life before then, but Arden suspects he has not had an easy time.
"Unfortunately, we don't know anything about his previous life or how he ended up on the freeway," she said. "He was found with a bad skin condition, so it's clear he didn't have the best care."
The sad reality is that it is often harder for senior dogs to get adopted. A study conducted by the website Priceonomics, using adoption data from Petfinder, found that 68.2 percent of senior dogs listed on the platform ended up being adopted.
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Because he is in the care of Muttville, a specialist shelter for senior dogs, he's in safe hands, and the attention Arden is giving him is likely doing a world of good.
Shelter dogs are desperate for attention. A 2018 study in the journal Applied Animal Behaviour Science found that just 15 minutes of one-on-one petting was enough to provide a measurable boost to a shelter dog's overall well-being.
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Arden has already seen Kino come out of his shell, describing him as a "happy, loyal and loving dog."
"He loves to run around outside and chase squirrels," she said. "But his favorite thing to do is sit outside and watch the sunset every evening. He's very chill and mostly likes to snooze on the couch during the day while I work from home."
Kino is available for adoption from Muttville, and Arden believes he would "do great in a lot of different homes."
"He is good with kids and good with other dogs. He loves meeting new people," she said. "Kino can be a bit shy at first, but as long as his adopter is willing to be patient, they will see what a wonderful dog he is."