Joey
Winner Takes It All
Back in January, Bounce®, in a charitable partnership with Petside.com and the ASPCA, invited you to vote in the 15 Most Lovable Shelter Pets contest. All contestants were homeless pets residing in ASPCA®, Mission: Orange™ shelters, our partners in working to end the euthanasia of adoptable pets throughout the country.
The staff at Charleston Animal Society (CAS) decided to enter Joey, a 12;-year-old dachshund found with a serious eye injury, wandering alone on a busy road. On the day the contest photos were taken, Joey had just had surgery, leaving him with only one eye.
Says Kay Hyman, CAS director of outreach and communications, “We chose Joey for the contest because we wanted to help find him a family that understood his special needs.”
Joey garnered more than 3,000 of the 15,790 votes cast in the contest. Not only did he take the grand prize, winning his shelter a monetary award, but he found a new home the month before the contest ended.
Says new dad John Baker of North Charleston, SC, “The way he looked at me when I first saw him in the shelter—I just fell in love. There was Joey, sitting there with one eye and people avoiding him, but I was so drawn to him.”
Apparently, this little champion does not consider the loss of an eye a problem. “Sometimes he runs past his ball because he can’t see it,” says Baker, “but that doesn’t stop him from playing fetch.” Well, his version of fetch, anyway. “He likes to run after the balls, but doesn’t feel the least obliged to bring them back.”
Joey has also revealed himself to be a dreamer—literally. “At night, he lies on his back between my and my wife’s pillows,” says Baker, “stretching and talking in his sleep. It’s not unusual for me to feel a paw on my back!”