Meet Kayla Filoon, a 20-year old student who spends her free time volunteering in an animal shelter in Philadelphia as a dog walker. Kayla loves dogs, but when she met Russ for the first time, she knew he was special. The 4-year old pit bull came to the shelter as a stray dog, beat up with patchy fur.
“He was missing fur on his tail and ears. He was also terribly skinny. They told me he was about 40 pounds when he came into the shelter. He was just sitting there calmly, staring at me. And I thought, he is adorable! I need to take him now,” said Kayla.
When Kayla came back to check on the pit bull, he had barely moved.
“He was sitting in the same position that he was before, just being quiet while the other dogs were barking and causing commotion,” said Filoon.
She took Russ for a walk and it only took her 5 minutes to fall deeply in love with the pit bull.
“He was really cuddly with me, even when we went into the yard. He seemed like such a sweet dog, and he didn’t bark at any of the other dogs,”said Kayla.
The situation at the shelter was really bad. The animal shelter was overcrowded and they had to euthanize 15 dogs. That’s how Kayla decided to adopt him. The next time, Kayla rushed to the shelter to sign the adoption papers.
“I took him home that night,” said Kayla.
Kayla lived with 6 housemates so she had to explain them the situation with Russ. Luckily, her roommates fell in love with him too!
“One night I’m sitting there on the chair, doing my homework, and he’s trying to find ways to cuddle with me. There was a whole other sofa open, and we had his bed on the floor, but he didn’t want to lie anywhere else. So he ends up positioning himself, and I look down, and I think, “Oh my gosh, look at him,” said Kayla.
The photo was taken by one of her roommates. He put it on social media, and everyone got obsessed with this incredible photo.
