Off The Record
After a Puppy is Brought Back to the Same Shelter For the Eleventh Time, Staff Finally Figures Out What’s Going On
In September 2014, a stray dog named Gumby was brought to the Charleston Animal Society (CAS), where the staff was immediately taken by his pleasant demeanor.
Little did they know the incredible friendship they were about to develop with him.
Gumby was brought back to the shelter 11 times in the next year.
You see, this hound mix was a master of disguise and escape, and he always found his way back to the same shelter.
The staff did everything they could to find him a forever family, but he kept getting returned because his would slip through the screen door or because his adopters couldn’t manage his devious antics.
During his third adoption, Gumby visited CAS four times.
He was abandoned twice by his adoptive, once by animal control, and once by a Good Samaritan. That dog sure is sneaky.
The crew made one more effort to adopt Gumby into a permanent home in December 2015, but he managed to break out three times in that period.
Gumby, no matter where he was placed, was moving around and making a nuisance of himself.
The CAS workers eventually figured out that despite Gumby’s pleasant attitude, he was trying to convey a message through his escape artist antics.
Gumby is a hound mix that, despite his average appearance, has become famous in Charleston, South Carolina thanks to his Houdini-like escape abilities.
In September of 2014, he was found and taken to the Charleston Animal Society (CAS), an honorable no-kill shelter.
Gumby was sent back to CAS 11 times throughout the course of the following year.
Seven times he was adopted out of CAS, eight times he was surrendered to CAS, and three times he was found as a stray.
The shelter staff did their best to locate Gumby a permanent home, but their efforts were ultimately unsuccessful.
Stubbornness is a common trait among hounds. Those who don’t make the cut as skilled hunters are often given up or abandoned by their owners.
The first adoption Gumby entered into lasted all of three days. His second adoption lasted only a short six months.
Each family that showed interest in Gumby was given a stern warning about his Houdini-like escape ability.
The third person to adopt him was committed to making it work.
Gumby, however, made four additional visits to CAS. He was brought in three times total; once by his adopter and twice by a Good Samaritan.
A fourth adopter took Gumby into their house in March of 2015, and the CAS workers didn’t hear from them again for four months. Everyone was overjoyed! Now it was over!
But in July of that year, Gumby came back and was once again labeled a stray.
Gumby was adopted for the sixth time in August, but only for a short time before he was transferred to a shelter that is related to CAS.
Nearly thirty miles separated this refuge from Charleston. That’s quite the trek for a canine!
He was promptly returned to CAS by his sixth adoptive family.
Who else sees a pattern here?
The last time the staff tried to find Gumby a permanent home was on December 6, 2015, however it didn’t last for very long.
The adopter said that he broke out of the house three times in less than a month.
The CAS workers had stopped trying to find an adoptive family for Gumby, but they still cared about him.
The animal refuge became his permanent residence.
He never seriously attempted to flee the refuge, the team concluded. He was really appreciative of the staff’s consistent care and attention.
They also noticed that Gumby had an eerie ability to calm scared or nervous shelter canines.
CAS’s employees had concluded that Gumby continued coming back because “he knows he has work to do.”
Gumby’s constant assistance to the behavior team during behavioral demonstrations made him an indispensable member of the shelter’s staff.
He gets to socialize with dozens of other dogs every day and receives the best care money can buy.
It’s a relief that the fantastic staff didn’t give up on Gumby.
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He may not have a typical family life, but he has discovered his calling.
Gumby’s blood serum was shown to have curative powers by the medical team. In order to help kittens with eye infections, he started giving them blood.
Gumby has finally found a permanent home at the same animal shelter he kept coming back to.
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