Foster Mom in Disbelief After Finding Out Dog’s Unusual Habit

A foster pup waiting for a forever home has picked up on an adorable habit that will require her future parents to continue.

Dolly was originally brought to the City of Buffalo Animal Shelter on January 14 as a stray puppy. She was filthy, overweight, extremely anxious, and nervous to go on walks, the shelter told Newsweek. As she settled in, she got more comfortable and cuddly, blossoming into an affectionate dog.

The dog moved in with shelter volunteer Katie on Valentine’s Day and has since come out of her shell. Katie said Dolly has gained confidence that can sometimes be a little too much. But the one thing that makes Dolly stand out the most is her constant need for her paw to be held.

The shelter wrote in an April 18 Facebook post about Dolly: “Knowing this, we’re requiring Dolly to go a home that can hold her hand as much as possible…”

Dolly’s foster mom told Newsweek via email that the paw-holding began when the dog would seek attention. Katie decided to teach the command “paw” as a way for Dolly to ask for pets. Dolly quickly grasped that doing this trick meant she got attention and touches and she would leave her paw in Katie’s hand.

“Then it turned into if I was sitting down she would jump up on the bed or couch and sit next to me and instantly put her paw out for me to hold,” Katie said. “She is just so desperate for my attention and affection. She especially loves doing it in the car for some reason.”

Katie explained that as soon as Dolly gets buckled in the front seat and starts the car, the paw goes up. She has no other option except to drive around while holding Dolly’s paw.

“People probably think we’re nuts,” Katie laughed.

While Dolly gets all the love and attention in her foster home with Katie, she is still available for adoption and awaits her forever family.

The animal shelter is confused as to why Dolly hasn’t been adopted as she’s housebroken, good in the car, and good with other dogs. They think it might be due to the black dog syndrome. In a Facebook post on Monday, the shelter explained that black dog syndrome is a “phenomenon where darker-colored doggies tend to wait longer in shelters before they find homes.”

Black cats also have trouble getting adopted. Why? It’s believed that people might view black dogs and black cats as superstitious. It could also be because of negative depictions in pop culture or that their facial features don’t stand out as much in a dark kennel.

Each year 6.3 million pets enter U.S. shelters, which is an average of 17,260 a day, according to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. The number of dogs and cats taken in by pet shelters hit 46,807 during January 2023, an increase of 1,744 compared with January 2022, the 24Pet “Shelter Watch Report” found.

Around 920,000 surrendered animals are euthanized every year. Shelters are striving to minimize euthanasia rates by promoting adoption campaigns, spaying and neutering programs, and behavior rehabilitation.

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