Odyn was very, very young when he ended up in a Kansas shelter. Odyn was just a puppy when he went to the shelter. For any dog, being in a big, noisy place like that can be shocking. The little puppy was so afraid of everything, including people and other dogs, that the shelter decided he couldn’t be adopted and put him on the list of animals to be killed.
Lucky for Odyn, people from The Misfits Dog Rescue in Colorado heard about his situation and drove from Colorado to Kansas to get him out of the shelter and take care of him.
Odyn was still nervous and shy when he moved into his foster home in Colorado, but he quickly became close to his foster parents, showing that he was perfectly capable of making friends and getting over his fears. The rescue started talking about him on its website, and soon a picture of him was seen by a family who had just moved into the area.
“We were actually in a hotel waiting for our apartment to become available when I found Odyn’s picture online,” Alyson Gasp, Odyn’s new mom, told The Dodo. “I showed my husband, and we both fell in love with him. It broke our hearts knowing that someone was going to euthanize him and we wanted to bring him into our home so that he would never feel scared and alone again.”
As soon as the couple realized that Odyn was meant to be their dog, they quickly called the rescue and started the adoption process. Once Gasp and her husband were settled in their new home, Odyn’s foster parents brought him over for a visit to meet them. Even though he was nervous at first, he eventually calmed down a little and took some time to get to know his new parents and dog sibling.
“Our current dog, Luna, was so excited to have him there,” Gasp said. “She ran around like crazy trying to get him to play with her, but he was super shy and wanted nothing to do with her. He was very reluctant to leave his foster parents’ sides, but he gradually did and explored our whole home. After they left, I literally cried because I was so happy about getting to adopt him.”
Gasp and her husband still wanted to adopt Odyn, even though he was nervous and shy. They thought he deserved a chance to have a home where he could grow into himself. In December, they made it official that he was their son, and Odyn loved his new life and family right away.
“Odyn quickly warmed up to Luna and he showed zero fear toward us,” Gasp said. “He was just an average curious and playful puppy. I truly believe that the shelter that was going to euthanize him never gave him a chance to show his true colors.”
After a few months, Odyn is doing great in his new home. He and his sister Luna can’t stand to be apart, and they run and play together all day, every day. He loves going on hikes with his family and runs up to everyone he meets to ask for attention and a belly rub. He isn’t afraid of anything anymore. All he needed was the right family to help bring out the confidence that was always there.
“He is such a good boy and has completed our family,” Gasp said. “It is amazing how showing a little love and compassion to an animal will change their persona.”
