Zoonar/Erik Lam/iStock/Thinkstock(WHEATON, Ill.) — Fifty-seven dogs taken from kill shelters in Texas are now with loving families.
The dogs were saved by TracysDogs, a nonprofit organization dedicated to working with kill shelters to adopt their dogs, rehabilitate them and then match them with deserving families.
Last Saturday, the Texas-based organization brought its 32-foot trailer to the parking lot of a PetSmart in Wheaton, Illinois, to personally hand off the dogs to families from 11 different states.
A video capturing the excitement of the day went viral on Facebook, with more than 11 million views.
“Last Saturday was awesome,” Tracy Voss, co-founder of TracysDogs, recalled to ABC News.
Scott Whyatt, Voss’ husband and the organization’s executive director, added: “It is always exciting and the best part of what we do. [It’s] nothing short of a rock concert. Those people are
excited. They’ve been waiting a very long time so of course there are a lot of tears.”
Whyatt said it takes about four weeks for the dogs to reach their new families after the organization gets them from kill shelters.
“When the dogs arrive most of them are in horrible condition and you worry about them,” he said. “It is a remarkable transition. We do this for the dogs but I do believe we’re changing a lot of
people’s lives too.”
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