Shelter’s Longest Resident Finally Finds a Home After 604 Days

A rescue center’s longest-serving resident has finally found his forever home after waiting a staggering 604 days to be adopted.

Marlon the pittie mix arrived at Wags and Walks animal rescue center in Los Angeles, California, back in May 2023. He was discovered in a home with 29 other dogs, and after their elderly owner passed away, her husband didn’t know how to care for them all.

Erica Fox, director of animal placement at the organization, told Newsweek that the husband “used shopping carts as makeshift crates” to contain the dogs. But that was no life for them, and ultimately, they were all taken into care.

Following his arrival at Wags and Walks, Marlon became a staff favorite as he loved spending time with people and brightening their days. But despite his lovable personality, finding a home for Marlon proved incredibly challenging, and the search went on for over 600 days.

By 2025, Marlon turned 9 years old and had spent almost two full years in foster care.

“Unfortunately, Marlon received very little adoption interest while he was with us,” Fox said.

She continued: “Although we pride ourselves on adopting out a significant amount of bully breeds, the truth is that they are much harder to get adopted. Between their negative stereotype (which is of course, so untrue) and their size, they often don’t find their forever families as quickly. In addition to his breed, older dogs often get overlooked.”

Another factor which Fox thinks might have played a role is what she dubs “website fatigue.” When potential adopters see the same dog listed on the website for a long time, she suspects they make a negative assumption about why they haven’t been chosen.

“They often scroll right past them while looking for the more recently rescued pups,” she said.

Fortunately, Marlon’s luck changed in January as he was fostered by a couple who instantly fell in love with him. They recently lost their pittie and wanted to help another pup, so opted to take Marlon home on a temporary basis, but you can guess how that turned out.

After a few weeks with him, they couldn’t bear the thought of letting him go and they adopted Marlon permanently.

Fox said: “Marlon’s new owners are everything we could have asked for and more. They are a wonderful couple who live in a house with a yard and spoil him like crazy. They both work from home, so he spends his days relaxing in their home offices and sunbathing in the yard.”

Marlon is living his best life now, but it was certainly an emotional moment when the longest-serving resident walked out of the rescue center one last time. A video was shared on TikTok (@wagsandwalksla) showing the moment he received a guard of honor from the staff and volunteers for one last farewell.

The viral clip left social media users fighting back the tears, leading to more than 106,800 views and 26,200 likes on TikTok at the time of writing.

Fox recalls what an emotional moment it was to see Marlon walk out the doors after finally finding a forever family. He may be in his senior years now, but he’s absolutely thriving with plenty of treats, toys, and snuggles.

“It was so heartwarming to see him walk out of our adoption center with his forever parents. All we want for our dogs is a family who will love them unconditionally and give them everything they need. Knowing that we were finally able to provide that for Marlon after so long was incredible,” Fox told Newsweek.

“We are so grateful for adopters like Marlon’s who are willing to open their hearts and homes for a dog who has been overlooked for so long,” she said.

The adorable video has amassed over 940 comments on TikTok so far, as many internet users were delighted that Marlon finally found his happily ever after.

One comment reads: “How that face had to wait 604 days is crazy! So darn cute.”

Another TikTok user wrote: “It makes me so sad he waited so long but it was worth the wait!!! Enjoy your furever family and new life!”

While another person added: “The tail wag when getting their family picture! I’m sobbing!”

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