'He chose me as much as I chose him': Dog found tied to Burnaby shelter gate adopted
![Robin and Norman Robin and Norman on the day he was adopted. (Courtesy: BC SPCA)](/content/dam/ctvnews/en/images/2023/12/10/robin-and-norman-1-6681710-1702252817035.jpeg)
A dog named Norman that was abandoned outside a BC SPCA shelter in October has found a forever home.
Staff found the American Staffordshire tied to the gate outside the organization’s Burnaby animal centre one morning, having been left at the shelter sometime after it had closed for the night.
“We didn’t know how many hours he had been there, but we knew he must have been devastated to watch his owner drive away and leave him there. Our hearts broke for him,” recalled manager Nicole McBain in a Friday release.
The dog had no identification meaning staff couldn’t find his owner, and nobody showed up to claim him, so he was put up for adoption.
As fate would have it, the dog needing a new home was adopted by a woman who had lost her American Staffordshire three weeks prior.
Robin spotted Norman on the BC SPCA website and “just couldn’t stop thinking about him,” she said.
She set up a time to meet Norman, and it was immediately a perfect match. “As soon as I walked into his kennel, he came right up to me and rolled on his back,” Robin recalled. ““He chose me as much as I chose him.”
Robin and Norman after his first "pup cup." (Courtesy: BC SPCA) She speculates Norman’s former owner didn’t let him inside, because he was nervous walking on her hardwood floors at first, and is still hesitant about coming into the house after playing in the yard.
“I was able to get him to the couch with some treats. He cuddled right up to me and I just let him decompress,” Robin said of their first day together.
The pair are now bonded, and they enjoy going for daily walks on the trails surrounding the house. “His first walk, he was on alert the whole time. Now he stops and sniffs every tree,” Robin said. “Norman is so well behaved. He doesn’t pull on the leash and if I ask him to wait, he will slow right down or turn around and look at me.”
“Going for walks, having his companionship when I work from home – it has all been so wonderful,” she continued.
Robin said Norman’s quirky personality is beginning to come out. He makes funny faces, won’t sit on the couch unless he’s under a blanket, and surfs on the carpet to the front door whenever Robin’s boyfriend Mike comes home. “Mike has gotten used to it and is ready to catch him,” she said.
To celebrate the holidays in his new home, Robin has bought Norman a stocking filled with toys. “We will be visiting lots of friends and family and Norman will be right beside us,” she added.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
![](https://www.ctvnews.ca/polopoly_fs/1.6977430.1721929538!/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_800/image.jpg)
'There's mom and dad's house': New video appears to show destruction of Jasper neighbourhood
Video posted to social media on Thursday morning appears to show the charred remains of a Jasper, Alta., neighbourhood.
LIVE UPDATES Multiple homes, businesses 'lost' to wildfire in Jasper National Park: Parks Canada
Officials from Parks Canada and Jasper say "multiple structures, including a number of businesses and homes, in and around the town of Jasper, have been lost" to wildfire in Jasper National Park.
Prince William's 2023 salary revealed in new report
Newly released financial reports show that William, the Prince of Wales, drew a salary of $42.1 million last fiscal year, his first since inheriting the vast and lucrative Duchy of Cornwall.
Alberta premier says a third, perhaps half, of all Jasper buildings destroyed by fire
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says early reports indicate a third and perhaps up to half of all buildings in the historic Rocky Mountain resort town of Jasper have been destroyed in a wildfire.
Canada to bring home fewest Olympic medals since 2012, according to forecaster
Fewer Canadians are expected to reach the Paris podium than in the previous two Olympic Summer Games, a global data analytics company predicts.
Jennifer Aniston criticizes JD Vance for 'childless cat ladies' remarks: 'I pray that your daughter is fortunate enough to bear children'
Jennifer Aniston is criticizing JD Vance for comments he made in his past about women without children.
'Skibidi Toilet:' If you don't know what it is, you will
'Skibidi Toilet' is already an internet sensation and now its about to get even more exposure after the YouTube series is being developed for TV and film, according to a report by Variety.
NASA says no return date yet for astronauts and Boeing capsule at space station
Already more than a month late getting back, two NASA astronauts will remain at the International Space Station until engineers finish working on problems plaguing their Boeing capsule, officials said Thursday.
French sprinter will wear a cap during Olympic opening ceremony after hijab dispute is resolved
French sprinter Sounkamba Sylla will be allowed to participate in the opening ceremony at the Paris Olympics wearing a cap to cover her hair, an agreement reached with the French Olympic Committee after Sylla said she was barred because of her hijab.