Lonely dog is waiting for a family after spending 500 days at shelter

A dog who has been without a family since November 2021 because “nobody wants to take [him] home” has gone viral on TikTok.

Butter is a three-year-old black labrador who has spent half his life in a shelter waiting to be adopted, as he has spent over 500 days at the Benton Franklin Humane Society in Kennewick, Washington.

His story has recently been told by Julie Saraceno, a volunteer shelter dog walker who has been documenting Butter’s story and his attempts to be adopted, which has led to Butter gaining a following on Julie’s TikTok account @juliesaraceno2 where he has received hundreds of thousands of views.

This week, Butter met with a potential loving family but they ended up deciding he “wasn’t the right fit.” Julia showed footage of Butter sitting on a blanket inside his shelter cage, and in a recent viral video wrote: “POV: You’ve been a shelter dog for over 500 days and nobody wants to take you home.”

READ MORE: A puppy gave me my life back at 78, says author Lesley Pearse

Julie has explained that Butter has been a “nervous guy” while living at the shelter but is “definitely a people dog.”

In an interview with Newsweek, Julie explained that Butter has suffered a few minor health issues in the past. He is fed three times a day but “doesn’t hold weight very well.”

Butter also had also suffered issues with a ligament inside his knee, and had a cranial cruciate ligament (CCL) rupture in December 2022, but is now doing much better. However, one shelter staff member said “stairs may never be his strong suit though.”

Despite this, Julie suspects one reason Butter is struggling to find a loving home is ‘Black Dog Syndrome’ which is the theory that darker-colored dogs are less likely to be noticed and adopted.

Julie explained: “I do feel like, from what I’ve seen, black dogs stay in the shelter longer. I think it’s some sort of unconscious bias people have walked through the shelter. The darker dogs just don’t stand out as much in their kennel.”

While Butter is yet to find someone to love and take care of him, his recent viral video has led to many comments on Julie’s TikTok enquiring about adopting him.

One person said: “Can you adopt out of state? I will drive from New York City to get him, he’s perfect.”

Another user commented: “I love him so much, Butter always seems so friendly and polite in every video you make of him.”

Someone else wrote: “That sweet face! Black dogs are the absolute best.”

A fourth commentator wrote: “Since 2021? That’s such a long time! How heartbreaking.”

Julie last posted an update on Butters on Tuesday, in which she stated Butter’s adoption fee is only $55 and asked more people to share and interact with his videos in hopes she can find him a family.

In response to one curious fan, Julia wrote: [Butter] is okay around other dogs, but [the shelter] requires a ‘Meet and Greet’ before adoption to make sure it’s a good fit for your family.”