Staff and volunteers at the 91Ô­´´ Animal Protection Society (LAPS) gave tearful goodbyes to Kyle on Friday, July 12, when his new family came to pick him up from the shelter. 

Kyle, a six-year-old husky, was found on June 26, 2022, wandering in the area of 240 Street and 22 Avenue. 

He was very skinny, missing some hair, and had some skin irritation when a member of the public found him and brought him to LAPS, recalled Shelley Joaquin, manager of animal welfare. 

"It didn't take too long for him to get better and fluff up," she said. 

While the goal is to find animals a home, it's a bittersweet feeling to see Kyle go after spending more than a year with him, Joaquin shared. 

"It's tearful to say a final goodbye, but ultimately that's why we are all here – to get them into good homes." 

Staff shared memories of Kyle's time at the shelter, calling him the "sweetest boy" and saying he deserves a good home.

"He's such a quirky, happy dog," Joaquin added. 

Ted Kirby often walked Kyle on weekends while his wife worked at the shelter, and he came out to say goodbye to Kyle on Friday. 

"He's just such a goofy dog, I just took a partial to him. And when I found out he'd been here for a year... it's too long," he said. 

Kyle went home with his new family to Brookswood on Friday. He is their second dog and second husky, said mom Amy. 

"A friend of mine reposted the Pity Pawty on her page and I saw it and wanted to adopt him," she said. 

The family requested their last name not be published for privacy. 

"We just saw him and... we are super excited to bring him home," Amy said. 

It's becoming a common occurrence for large dogs to stay longer at shelters, even pre-pandemic, said Joaquin. 

"My guesses would be restrictions in housing, breed or size restrictions, is a big part of it," she said. 

But post-pandemic, adoptions have dropped or slowed drastically, so shelters are becoming overcrowded as dogs are still coming in but not leaving soon enough. 

"Just the other day, we had 106 animals in care," she said. 

Joaquin suggests people can share LAPS social media posts to help spread the word, volunteer at the shelter in a variety of ways such as dog walking, donate items such as food or blankets, or provide a foster home for one of the animals. 

"There's lots of ways people can help support the dogs, even if they can't adopt." 

Dogs available for adoption at LAPS can be viewed on their website at .