Dog Spends 13 Years Waiting for a Home Before Meeting an Adopter Who Wants to Be His ‘Best Friend’ (Exclusive)

• Vito spent several years in a shelter looking for a home before moving to Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in Kanab, Utah
• The rescue dog spent a decade at the sanctuary before meeting the ideal adopter
• A man with experience caring for wolves adopted Vito this year and now travels regularly with the dog

Vito the dog spent 13 years searching for his ideal adopter, and now he has his perfect match.

As 2024 draws to a close, Best Friends Animal Society is celebrating the thousands of rescue pets who have found homes this year, including senior pup Vito. The animal welfare organization is striving to end the killing of dogs and cats in America’s shelters and is hoping to make the country no-kill by the end of 2025.

According to a release from Best Friends, the number of animals euthanized at U.S. shelters has decreased by 3.4% since 2023, but plenty of pets need to find homes before the country’s shelter system becomes no-kill.

Vito proves that there is a perfect home for every pet. The dog entered the shelter system as a put and spent a few years there before moving to Best Friends’ animal sanctuary in Kanab, Utah. The sanctuary promised to care for Vito for the rest of his life, regardless of whether he found an adopter or not.

The dog spent 10 years at Best Friends Animal Sanctuary searching for a home but had trouble finding the right fit because of biting behaviors that required a patient and experienced owner.

It seemed like Vito would spend his life at the sanctuary until Casey Black visited the rescue in March on a trip to Utah.

“I travel quite a bit, and in the spring, I was down through Texas, then driving around Kanab, and saw a sign for the Best Friends Animal Sanctuary. I thought, ‘Well, I’m going to check that place out,'” Black tells PEOPLE.

After his first visit, Black started volunteering at the sanctuary, which led to him looking at the dogs available for adoption. He spotted Vito and felt drawn to the pup because he looked like one of Black’s previous dogs.

The sanctuary told Black about Vito’s biting behaviors and that the dog required an experienced owner. Black happened to have just the background Best Friends was looking for — he started the Northern Lights Wildlife Wolf Center in Golden, British Columbia. Black worked at the center for years before moving on to other parts of conservation.

Through his work with wolves, Black gained an understanding of canine body language and the patience needed to gain Vito’s trust. Black met with Vito numerous times at the sanctuary and took the dog on several sleepovers, including camping trips, before adopting the pup.

“I went out and camped just out in the desert; there’s no one around,” Black says of their overnight trips. “He stayed close and listened well but still had a lot of trust issues.”

After several successful sleepovers, Black officially adopted the dog in March and has continued to build a trusting relationship with Vito.

“It took probably over two months before I could really pet him on the back,” Black says.

Today, Vito and Black have a close and understanding friendship. They enjoy long walks in the wilderness together. Although the pair is currently in Alberta, they often travel in Black’s van to beautiful areas of North America.

“When I first got Vito, he would just stand in the front of the passenger seat with his head in the corner,” Black says of his early days with the dog.

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“He certainly has come around, and he’s definitely in better shape and stronger than he was when I got him,” he adds. “He loves to go for walks, and you can tell he’s happy with the way he hops around. It’s pretty funny to watch.”

And while it may seem like Black changed Vito’s life to some, the man insists it’s the real hero who is the dog.

“I love this dog. He’s had a huge impact on me. He’s my best friend. He’s my pal. He goes everywhere and sticks real close to me because I’m sure he feels the same way,” he says, adding, “He’s just such a good dog. I wish I could have got him earlier. And people can’t believe he’s 13 years old.”

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