A dog who escaped a life of unimaginable cruelty discovered what it felt like to feel safe and loved thanks to the help of one woman and her cat.
Eli was just two years old when he arrived at the SPCA of Brevard, a Florida-based shelter that currently partners with the animal welfare organization Best Friends Animal Society to help cats and dogs from across the country. Eli was one of more than 150 dogs seized in a federal dogfighting case. A cruel, barbaric and entirely illegal practice, the World Animal Foundation estimates 16,000 dogs die annually in the U.S. as a result of dogfighting.
Though Eli was one of the lucky ones, in the sense he escaped physically unharmed from his ordeal, emotionally it was an entirely different story. Eli was understandably shut down by the time he reached the shelter, too terrified to even step out of his crate.
Staff took to gently carrying his entire crate into a quiet kennel, to give him the space to emerge on his own terms. For months, staff and volunteers worked patiently to help Eli feel safe. Gradually, he began venturing outside and started to learn to trust. Sadly, potential adopters never saw that progress. During meet-and-greets, Eli would retreat into himself—too shy to show who he really was. He remained in what staff lovingly called his “home-between-homes.”
Loki the Cat
Then came a holiday foster initiative, Home for the Pawlidays, tied to Best Friends Animal Society’s Bring Love Home Challenge, a nationwide initiative to help more cats and dogs find loving homes. It was around that time that Makenna Carew walked into the shelter planning to foster. Up until that point she’d only fostered cats but when she heard Eli’s story, she decided to give him a chance.
People who step up to foster pets play a vital part in helping shelter and rescue groups across the country save pet’s lives. National data from Best Friends Animal Society, shows shelters with foster programs adopt out roughly 30 percent more pets than those without. That’s partly because fosters can share real-life insights about personality, habits, and compatibility.
Foster programs don’t just give dogs like Eli a break from the stress of shelter life; they reveal who they truly are. Carew soon discovered this herself and within days of arriving at her home, Eli began to blossom.
He cautiously befriended her two dogs and could often be found curled up on the couch. Before long, he became the “big spoon” to Loki the cat—a moment so sweet Carew shared a photo to the SPCA of Brevard’s Facebook page.
‘Next Thing I Know’
The post drew over 1,000 likes, hundreds of comments, and a message from someone interested in adopting—Michael Criss. “Darcie [Criss’s roommate] was scrolling through Facebook when she came across Carew’s post about Eli—especially a photo of him hugging a cat,” Criss told Newsweek. “Next thing I know, she turns to me and says, ‘I don’t know how that just happened, but we’re doing a meet and greet with Eli tomorrow.’”
Criss was nervous going into that first meeting. “We actually weren’t looking to adopt another dog at the time,” he said. “We’ve had Kelce for about six years, but she came from a rough background, and we weren’t sure how she would do with another dog. We also have an 18-year-old cat, so we were trying to be careful not to disrupt the balance in our home.”
Yet from the moment the meet and greet began, everything seemed to fall into place. “Eli was shy but very gentle. Kelce was calm with him, and they seemed to understand each other right away. That gave us a lot of confidence,” Criss said. “When we brought him to our home, everything just clicked. He started to relax, found places where he felt safe, and fit in so naturally. It didn’t take long before we realized he was meant to be part of our family.”
Criss adopted Eli soon after and while Eli is still adjusting to his new surroundings, he’s already got a four-legged friend in the house already. “Kelce has helped him a lot—she’s really shown him how to be a dog and helped build his confidence,” Criss said. “Now he’ll lay out on the living room rug with her, chewing on bones, which is something we wouldn’t have seen at the beginning.”
Eli now spends most days with Criss, who works from home, often napping beside his desk. It’s a sign of how far he has come and how much of an impact his stay with Carew had. She’s not looking for plaudits though. She just hopes Eli’s story inspires more shelters to create or expand their foster programs and that more community members are inspired to become foster volunteers.
