Lovebug dog lands a new family

Hester loves everyone. He walks around with a perpetual smile on his face. And from the moment he arrived at the La Porte (Texas) Adoption Center and Animal Shelter, he was a big hit with the staff.

Hester’s also happy to meet new doggy buddies, but his tendency to be a bit overenthusiastic causes him to be more likely to annoy them than make friends. And after spending time in two foster homes, attending a great many adoption events, and putting his best paw forward at a bunch of meet and greets, he still hadn’t met the right fit in an adopter.

Nevertheless, 3-year-old, 60-pound Hester just continued doing what he always does: spreading joy and love everywhere he goes. And when Best Friends stepped up to fund his heartworm treatment and neuter surgery, the team in Houston was smitten as well. Best Friends’ goal is for all shelters to reach no-kill in 2025, and that means working together with other animal welfare organizations to give each pet what they need to move out of the shelter and into a happy new life.

While it was clear that Hester needed some additional social skills to help him interact better with other dogs, there was no doubt he’d make a great addition to a family because he loved people so much.

“We sponsored his treatment and surgery because we wanted to give him the best chance of being adopted,” says Vivian Caliz, Best Friends’ shelter partnerships coordinator in Houston. “He was a very sweet guy, always gentle and easygoing. He liked other dogs, but he just didn’t know how to properly communicate with them. He was essentially a big lap dog who needed some training.”

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Mitch Turner-Beasley, a La Porte animal control officer, knew Hester as well as anyone from his work at the shelter. “Great with people,” says Mitch. “He’d run around and play a bit, but after that he just wanted to be touched by people. He wanted to be in people’s laps. In fact, he’d put his whole body in your lap.”

LaTasia Brewster and her family had been without a dog for a year. With no other pets in the house, they were open to a number of adoption options, even if it meant taking a dog who needed a little extra help. She stopped by the La Porte shelter with two of her children, one of them in a stroller, to check out a dog named Max. But another family had already taken a liking to Max. So, even though she was first in Iine, LaTasia gave the other family first pick.

[Dog with incontinence, heartworm proves that love always wins]

A further walk through the shelter at first didn’t reveal anyone special. Then she saw Hester. “He’s just so pretty, a beautiful dog,” LaTasia says. “It seemed like there were 40 dogs barking all at the same time but not Hester. He was chill. I said, ‘That dog is the one.’ I looked at him and said, ‘I love you.’”

While that nearly sealed the deal, it wasn’t quite the closer. That happened a few minutes later when they brought Hester out of the kennel. He went right up to the stroller, seemed enamored with its contents, and gave a gentle kiss on a tiny hand. That was it. Hester, at long last, was headed home.

Hester clearly hit the jackpot when he went home with the Brewsters. LaTasia says, “He’s got a big bed of his own, but he usually sleeps with us. He’s very house-trained. If he has to go out, he lets us know. My husband takes him for a walk every morning, and he gets two more walks during the day.”

For Hester, all is right with the world these days. The Brewsters are working with him on his manners around other dogs. LaTasia says, “He’s getting to know both the big dog and little dogs next door. We’re taking it slow, but we feel he’s getting more comfortable around other dogs in general.”

But above all, “He’s our big baby,” LaTasia says. “He’s a part of our family.”

Our goal at Best Friends is to support all animal shelters in the U.S. in reaching no-kill in 2025. No-kill means saving every dog and cat in a shelter who can be saved, accounting for community safety and good quality of life for pets. 

Shelter staff can’t do it alone. Saving animals in shelters is everyone’s responsibility, and it takes support and participation from the community. No-kill is possible when we work together thoughtfully, honestly, and collaboratively.