Toro is a five-year-old rescue dog who became an internet star because he always wants to hug everyone he meets. You might think he was always showered with love and affection because of how kind he is to everyone he meets. In fact, it was a long way from that. Not at all!
When a rescue team from the Town of Hempstead Animal Shelter found the dog, he was chained up with two other dogs in an abandoned house. The dog was very friendly. They looked like they had been outside for a long time. It didn’t stop them from wagging their tails when they met the people who saved them. He hugged everyone on the team right above them. It was clear now that these dogs have such gentle hearts.
Melissa Fogarty, a volunteer at the Town of Hempstead Animal Shelter, said that he was a little nervous when the dog first came in. She said this to the DODO. About 15 minutes after we let him play in our side yard, he hugged us. He crawled up to me, climbed on my lap, and pressed himself against my chest. From there, it grew, and now he hugs all of his friends here, too.
At the shelter, Toro was always friendly and kind. Every time someone came in, he met them with wide-open arms. He always wants to hug the person walking him and anyone else he comes into contact with when he comes out of the kennel. Melissa Fogarty said that.
But even though Toro is such a gentle person, he hasn’t found a home in almost a year. “I think he hasn’t been adopted because he’s a middle-aged pit mix living in a shelter with many people coming in,” Melissa said. This sea of dogs that don’t do well in their kennels makes him hard to find.
