‘That’s just amazing’: Dog adopted after 362 days at Arlington shelter

Some animals end up in local shelters and are snatched up almost as soon as their bios are posted on a shelter website or on social media.

Others, like Nekoosa, a large dog who might have been 8 or 9 years old when she ended up at the Animal Welfare League of Arlington in Virginia, lingered. In Nekoosa’s case, it was 362 days before she was adopted.

“It was kind of baffling to us,” said AWLA spokesperson Chelsea Jones, said of Nekoosa.

Nekoosa loves people, and isn’t aggressive toward other animals, but just “doesn’t enjoy their company,” Jones said.

“Sometimes there’s grumpy old men or ladies, sometimes there’s grumpy, old dogs too,” Jones said.

Some pet owners prefer a one-pet household, so that’s not always a negative. But the longer an animal remains in shelter, Jones said, that can lead to questions from potential adopters who might wonder, “There must be a reason they’re still there.”

When asked about what finally happened to turn Nekoosa’s luck around, Jones said her bio got the right set of eyes on it.

“It turns out that her post was shared by a friend of ours, who is a local meteorologist, Lauryn Ricketts.” (Yes, that’s the same Lauryn Ricketts who can be heard on WTOP delivering weather reports.)

Jones said that a local woman had shown Nekoosa’s bio to her mother, and suggested they adopt the older dog. But the mother was lukewarm to the idea.

Then weeks later, the mom contacted her daughter saying that Ricketts had posted the dog’s information and that they should definitely visit Nekoosa. The daughter told her that was the same dog she had suggested they adopt weeks prior.

Fast forward a bit and Nekoosa is now enjoying the good life in her forever home, in part thanks to Ricketts, who it turns out, is not only popular on TV and radio, but is a powerful pet influencer.

WTOP contacted Ricketts to share that it was her post that landed Nekoosa her new gig as a family pet.

“I did not know that’s how that happened!” said a surprised and joyful Ricketts. “I was incredibly happy and honestly, shocked to hear it.”

Ricketts herself has adopted from the AWLA. In 2020, Cupid, an orange and white cat, had been shot with an arrow. As he made a stunning recovery while in the care of AWLA, Ricketts heard about him and decided he’d be coming to live with her family. Now, roughly 5 years old, Ricketts said Cupid is doing just fine.

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