Watch Herschel “scream” here:
Video credit: Rocky Kanaka
It’s not enough that an animal gets rescued because shelters are merely halfway houses towards the beautiful life these pets deserve under loving and caring new owners. But with so many animals getting rescued, sometimes deserving animals just fade into the background.
After all, one can hardly tell how a prospective pet will fit into one’s family if all you can observe is their behavior in the shelter which is a stressful environment. This is why some people become ambassadors for the critters by taking them out for adventures and letting people know the positive qualities of these potential pets.
One of these ambassadors is Rocky Kanaka. Aside from having a passion for baking, he also loves rescue animals. To this end, he created the YouTube series “Dog’s Day Out.” The series follows him as he takes a dog waiting for adoption out into society and let people know about its plight.
A German Shepherd named Herschel became one of the popular attractions. Herschel had a rough past and all he needed was a second chance if someone would just notice.
On the dog’s web page, Kanaka wrote: “Chained up and neglected in a backyard for much of his life, his teeth are whittled down from constant gnawing on the chains that held him captive.
“Herschel, also called Bear, has been surrendered twice. Dogs chained up for long periods of time don’t learn the basic skills that those living in caring families learn. As a result, some inexperienced owners become frustrated and give up.”
Despite being a young dog, prospective adopters become intimidated because Herschel is nearly 100 pounds and comes from a well-known protection breed. Being under-socialized also didn’t help.
So Kanaka decided to film Herschel as he was outdoors to prove to everyone that the dog was worth adopting.
Their first destination was Big Bear, California, where Herschel experienced snow for the first time and absolutely loved it.
Next, Kanaka had Herschel sit beside three large, stuffed teddy bears, although he still stole peoples’ attention as he offered hugs to passersby.
Kanaka then got Herschel to try some delicious treats, including a cake produced by a dog bakery. More than half a million people saw Herschel’s video on YouTube so he definitely got some notice. Adoption applications soon flooded the Michelson Found Animals rescue center.
But the best was yet to come as Kanaka decided to bring Herschel to the beach on his way to driving the dog to his new owner in Washington state.
While he seemed fairly normal at the start, once he saw the waves crashing Herschel started scream-whining. It was clearly something he was excited about and if he wasn’t eventually pulled out of the water, he may have not returned to land at all! It was obvious to all that Herschel was a water dog.
A woman named Kim ended up adopting Herschel and now he has found a new home with German Shepherd “siblings” and lots of space to run on.
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