Stanley the dog is a Cape Coral Animal Shelter story with a few twists and a happy ending
We bring to you a dog saga worthy of a Netflix reality show.
We don't want to give too much away, but by the time you finish reading the latest on the dog named Stanley and his tumultuous journey on finding his way back to Cape Coral from Tennessee, you may want to have a box of Kleenex nearby.
Thanks to the team at the Cape Coral Animal Shelter, a nonprofit, no-kill animal shelter located off Santa Barbara Boulevard at 325 SW 2nd Ave., this story has a happy ending.
Who is Stanley?
Stanley is a 4-year-old Terrier-Hound mix dog who first came to the Cape Coral Animal Shelter in March 2020.
He was almost 2 years old when he came to the Cape shelter from Clewiston Animal Control, a very rural shelter in central Florida.
How did Stanley end up in Tennessee?
Stanley was first adopted in September 2020, and a year later he found himself as a stray at the local county municipal shelter.
"The original owners never claimed him, so he returned to us," said Liz McCauley, executive director of the Cape Coral Animal Shelter.
He was adopted shortly afterward, and the shelter lost contact with him in September 2021, until a call came in this year.
Cris Lane, a rescue volunteer from rural Georgia, contacted the shelter reporting that Stanley had been found on a random porch.
Stanley luckily had a microchip, and it was revealed that he had been rehomed and subsequently abandoned again.
On Sept. 29, the Cape Coral Animal Shelter went to meet Lane and picked the dog up in Georgia.
"We were all really happy to have him back in our care, and we believe he remembered us!" McCauley said.
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How is he now?
Though Stanley has had a string of bad adoptions, the shelter said he's still the same sweetest dog they've ever known with so much love to give.
"He was the same Stanley we knew and loved — although he put on quite a few pounds!" McCauley said.
Once news broke about his situation, Stanley was adopted again on Oct. 14 to what the shelter hopes is his forever family.
"They saw him on the news and came immediately," McCauley said. "We were all very excited, including the person who found him in Tennessee."
CCAS responds to critics
McCauley said that since the news about Stanley broke, they've received some detractors who said the shelter should have done a better job vetting the adoptions.
She said the shelter does its best to find its animals great and permanent homes, but sometimes people just can't keep them.
"Unfortunately, sometimes people just can’t keep the animal and feel they have no choice," McCauley said. "But there is always a choice — most shelters and rescues always take their animals back — we proved that by driving so far to bring Stanley back to us!"
What they want people adopting animals to know
McCauley said to follow these pieces of advice when adopting:
Make sure your animals are microchipped and the info is up to date.
And shelters and rescues almost always take their dogs back so check with them.
Don’t abandon your animals.
This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Cape Coral Animal Shelter shares story of Stanley the dog
