This Dog Has Been Waiting for Adoption for 1,600+ Days

Have you ever wondered if dogs have eyebrows? Well, yes, they do. And consider the very adoptable dog, Ursula, exhibit A. She has a single black eyebrow, which gives her a signature look. It almost seems as if she’s skeptical that she’ll ever find the right home.

Ursula has been waiting for a home for more than 1,600 days (yes, you read that right), and it’s hard not to wonder why. She’s playful, clever, and endlessly loyal — but somehow, she’s still waiting for the person who “gets” her. Maybe that person is you?

Meet Ursula

Ursula started life at the shelter as a parvo puppy. The Austin Pets Alive (APA) medical team worked around the clock to keep her alive, while hoping she would respond. Ursula fought through it, recovered, and has carried that resilience with her ever since. But she was never adopted.

Because her earliest weeks were spent in medical care rather than getting puppy socialization, she can still be nervous in new environments and cautious around new people.

After two years of waiting to be adopted, she transitioned to a foster home, and the difference between kennel life and home life has been meaningful. She tends to be vocal when she feels unsure, so her initial impression can be louder than her true personality. Once she has time to assess and settle, she’s a goofball. In her foster home of two years, she has shown steady progress.

“She spent many weeks attending Every Dog Behavior and Training classes, where she made fast friends with her group instructor and even learned how to confidently enter a room,” Stephanie Bilbro, an Austin Pets Alive foster, says. “We’re so proud of her progress, and you’ll see that confidence in the comfort of a home. Try not to take her barks at face value: We promise she’ll be your best friend if you can get past her not-so-great initial impression.” Although she is slow to warm up and a bit sassy in a playgroup, she loves the playdates.

Ursula is a committed self-entertainer who is silly in ways no one else fully understands, and she makes a pretty good lap-cat. She’s also a big fan of swimming, playing with the hose, and pretty much anything water-related.

Testing Ursula’s DNA

Sometimes, running a DNA test on an adoptable dog can help them get adopted. There’s often hope that the test will reveal an unexpected breed. So the APA gave her a Wisdom Panel™ DNA test thanks to a partnership with Adopt a Pet, which helps shelters and rescues boost pet adoptions.

In Ursula’s case, the results confirmed what most people had already assumed: She’s primarily American Pit Bull Terrier and American Staffordshire Terrier. She looks like a Pittie…because she is a Pittie. (Well, with a few herding breeds mixed in.)

Unfortunately, slow-to-warm dogs and bully breeds are often less likely to be adopted, and need the right person to give them a chance. So while there’s no splashy surprise in her DNA test, we hope Ursula will find herself a permanent home of her own. She has done some work on herself, and now she just needs someone ready to meet her halfway — and finally bring her home.

Adopt a Pet has partnered with Wisdom Panel™ to provide clearer insight into the background and breeds of pets at shelters and rescues, helping adoptable pets find homes faster. Through this program, animal welfare organizations with an Adopt a Pet account can order Wisdom Panel Breed Discovery tests at a deep discount, making DNA testing more affordable and helping them market and match harder-to-adopt pets with the right homes. If your organization has an Adopt a Pet account, learn more about the program, and complete the interest form to participate.