From Shelter to Soulmate
The Brookline Labrador Retriever Rescue From Shelter to Soulmate program is dedicated to rescuing Labrador Retrievers from high-kill shelters, providing them with necessary medical care, and nurturing them in foster homes until they are ready for adoption into permanent, loving families. We rely on the generosity of our donors to provide these dogs with the care they desperately need. Without your support, many of these Labs will not get a second chance. Our ultimate goal is to give these deserving dogs a second chance at life and happiness.
King was scheduled for euthanasia the day Brookline volunteer, Deb, pulled him from ACCT. Sadly, senior dogs don’t last long in high-kill shelters, especially dogs with health issues. King was skin and bones, arthritic, partially blind and deaf. He had to be lifted into Deb’s car because he was too weak to climb in. Deb recalls her husband asking, “Do you think this dog will make it?” Her response, “I don’t know, but we have to try.”
For years I had been begging my husband to adopt a senior Labrador to accompany our current lab mix rescue. When he finally agreed in the summer of 2025, I immediately found King at Brookline Lab Rescue. Today, King is thriving with us in his forever home.
When we first got King, he would rarely stand up. He would eat lying down, and only if I was sitting on the floor by him. When outside, he would immediately lay down in the grass, reluctant to move. He seemed to be very curious about Stanley, our family dog, and our 5 chickens, but King didn’t know how to play.
One day he simply began playing, even running in the yard with Stanley! For a dog who is almost completely blind and deaf, has severe arthritis, a very prominent limp, and a heart murmur, it was shocking to see him as the play instigator of the two dogs! Mostly, King just wants to be loved.
In our house we now have the “King tax”. King allows no person to walk through a room without paying the tax, which is you sitting on the floor while he makes a very pronounced plop on your lap. He squirms and groans in your lap until you pet him.
Many Brookline volunteers supported King’s journey from Shelter to Soulmate. Foster mom, Beth Ann, recalls that what King initially needed most was medical attention and the love that would comfort him physically and emotionally. “He never left my side. He was so grateful to finally lay his head in a warm, soft place, have a full belly and get lots of snuggle time,” she said. “I was happy to provide it.” Beth Ann also supported King’s water therapy sessions, which helped him build muscle mass. As she reported, “He loved it.”
Although King didn’t find us until he was 8 or 9 years old, it is as if we have loved him all his life. He has completed our family. While it is apparent that King had a hard life before being rescued by Brookline, it is safe to say that he has left those memories behind. King is safe. King is loved. King is home.
