Dino, now named Sweet Puppy, with his new human companions. Photo courtesy of AWLA
Emmanuel Lassiter loved his dog, Dino. An outgoing pit bull-Rottweiler mix who loved people, Dino was everything Lassiter could want in a dog. But he just couldn’t keep him.
Lassiter, 22, who works as a courier in Washington, felt he couldn’t devote the time to Dino that he deserved. After struggling with the problem, Lassiter decided that surrendering him to a shelter was the right course of action.
On checking out the possibilities for Dino’s adoption at a nearby shelter, Lassiter wasn’t encouraged. “I was doing everything in my power to find a place where they would treat him nice and find him a good home,” he recalled. Finally, last February, Lassiter called the shelter operated by the Animal Welfare League of Alexandria (AWLA) and was encouraged by what they told him — that they would use all available resources to help Dino find a new home.
After leaving Dino at the shelter, Lassiter continued to follow his progress at the AWLA, occasionally calling the staff and monitoring him on the shelter’s website. He saw a video of Dino running an obstacle course. “He looked like a superstar — it really made me happy to see him like that,” Lassiter said.
And one day, when he checked the site, he learned that Dino had been adopted. “It made me feel great that he had a new home,” he said. “I had raised him from a pup, and I just wanted the best for him.”
Dino’s new home is in Alexandria, and his new “parent” is Nazar Sultany. Dino, now known as “Sweet Puppy,” has a large home, deck and yard to roam. Sultany and his wife report that he’s “lovely, sweet, friendly and energetic and obeys commands — most of the time.”
The Animal Welfare League of Alexandria, celebrating its 70th anniversary, is an independent, local, 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. The AWLA is committed to ending animal homelessness, promoting animal welfare, and serving as an educational resource for the City of Alexandria community. More information is at AlexandriaAnimals.org.