When a couple’s dog of 11 years passed away, they never imagined they’d be ready for a new furry family member—until fate intervened in the most unexpected way.
One weekend, while Chelsea and Steven were away, she began receiving texts from neighbors warning that an animal might have wandered into their backyard, she told Newsweek. With cats frequently roaming the area, she didn’t think much of it at first.
But when she returned home, she saw something that made her heart skip a beat: a tiny animal eerily similar to a coyote.
“He backed himself up behind our plant in the corner, barking his head off at me,” she said. “You could tell he was very scared.”
Her first reaction was worry: heartbreak at the thought that the animal had been in the yard for at least two days in the Texas summer heat, with temperatures reaching 100 degrees. She left bowls of water and food out for him before figuring out a rescue plan.
Her sister and neighbors came over to help, but Chelsea said the animal kept running to each corner of the yard, refusing to let anyone get close. After about an hour and a half, he eventually tired out, and her sister threw a blanket over him to lift him up and into the crate.
A vet visit settled the debate on whether it was a coyote, which it was not. Instead, it was a frightened puppy seeking safety.
Chelsea later checked the security cameras and discovered how the pup had snuck into the yard through a section of the iron fence.
“The spaces in between were enough for him to slip through,” she said. “He was only 12 pounds at the time and he kept coming back to our house.”
With no microchip, Chelsea and Steven began searching for his owner by posting on social media, calling local vets and posting flyers. But as weeks went by with no luck, the two finally thought it was a sign from their late dog. Why else would the pup pick their yard?
“All at once, we admitted to each other, we both wanted to keep him,” she said. “He weasled his way into our hearts.”
The couple named him Yote, a nod to his looks, and threw him an adoption party, complete with balloons, cake and party hats.
“Since then, his personality comes out more and more every day,” Chelsea said. “He is 31 pounds now. He has the most goofy, loving personality.”
Viewer Reactions
The couple shared their heartwarming story on the Instagram account @yotethedog, and the October 27 clip amassed over 317,000 views as of Friday. Instagram users melted at the news that the couple decided to adopt him.
“He found you. Knew where to go,” wrote one person, while another said: “It was meant to be.”
A third person added: “Wow! What a fantastic life Yote has now! God bless you both for fostering and then adopting! He will always remember your kindness and love!”
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