The story of Pittis, a black shelter worker struggling to find a forever home, continues to be an issue in shelters across the country. For some reason, these beautiful cats continue to be overlooked due to the less popular colors of their black feline friends. As a result, many of them never find forever homes, and most of these dogs end up being euthanized.

The little animal named Arlo was close to the point of no return at a local shelter in Bakersfield, California. It was constantly overlooked and overlooked by people until a woman with a big heart decided to step in and make it work!

Arlo’s story


Woman sitting on couch with two dogs


Donna Clark of Soul 2 Soul Animal Rescue in Roseburg, Ore., got a call about Arlo from one of her carriers. She said this black mix, along with several other dogs, will soon be euthanized if someone doesn’t take them in quickly. Clark, who knew how hard it would be for a black dog to find a home, immediately agreed to place Arlo with another dog.

Donna Clark, of Soul 2 Soul Animal Rescue, based in Roseburg, Oregon, got a call from one of their transporters about Arlo. He said that this black Pittie mix was about to be euthanized, next to several other dogs, unless someone takes them soon.

Clark immediately agreed to take Arlo in, alongside one other dog, despite knowing how challenging finding a home for a black Pittie would be.

“For dog breeds, the hardest dog to place is a black pit bull,” Soul 2 Soul Animal Rescue wrote on Facebook.

Within days, Arlo put his goofy and energetic personality on display, making everyone around fall in love with him.

He soon found a forever home in a big family, but the owners decided to return him after a month. They were afraid that Arlo, given his high energy, would hurt their children, and soon enough – he was right back where he came from.

“They returned him because of his energetic zoomies as the wife was afraid he would hurt one of their children,” the S2SAR team wrote in a Facebook post.

Clark was heartbroken to see Arlo back in the shelter after he just found what he had been looking for all this time. 

This black Pittie was quite confused with why his family gave him up. He started exhibiting signs of depression until he got a second chance – a beautiful foster home and an experienced mom who agreed to help get Arlo back on track.

The Day Has Finally Come

It took Arlo some time, but he eventually became his old self in the foster home. His goofy and funny personality was on display once again, signaling that he was ready again for a new home.

Despite how much of a sweetheart he is, Clark and the team wanted someone with enough time and energy to adopt Arlo – possibly a person with a big, fenced yard and lots of love to give.

It was a long shot, but then the day finally arrived!

A woman came to meet Arlo and immediately fell in love with his sweet personality. She didn’t think twice about making him a part of her family!

“We are so very happy for our beautiful boy and tonight feeling very accomplished that we placed the hardest type of dog there is out there” his caregivers wrote on Facebook.

Next to his hoomans, Arlo also got a sister adopted from the Central Point dog rescue. Today, these two are enjoying their life to the fullest, running freely in the yard and enjoying every minute of their lives.

Clark is so happy to finally see Arlo settling in with his forever family. After all the hardship he has been through, he sure deserves all the love in this world!