Dog with ‘one of the best smiles’ spends 5 years in shelter — until ‘Christmas miracle’

For more than five years — over half of his life — a “goofy” dog named Coolidge waited to be adopted in an Illinois animal shelter.

While in the care of the Hoopeston Animal Rescue Team, Coolidge took countless holiday photos with the hope one of them would finally get the attention of an adopter.

But as time passed, Coolidge continued to be overlooked — even though he has “one of the BEST smiles.”

“This is nothing short of tragic,” the shelter said in an Oct. 25 post on Facebook, shortly before the dog’s ninth birthday. “Humans have failed him. Coolidge has deserved so much more in this life! But oh what resilience! To still be a bouncy, happy-go-lucky guy!”

Despite loving people, Coolidge likely went unadopted because of one major caveat — he needed to be in a home without other pets.

The shelter said it needed a “hero” to give Coolidge a life outside of the rescue center.

“He deserves so much more than life in a shelter — he really is a wonderful boy!” the shelter said in 2023.

Finally, after 1,888 days, that hero came. The shelter said Dec. 7 that Coolidge had been adopted.

“Our goodest boy, our most beloved Coolidge , got to go home!” the shelter said. “There is nothing better we could think of as a gift this holiday season. Coolidge has a home, a fenced yard, and most importantly, a momma of his very own! A Christmas miracle!!!”

It ends a long saga for Coolidge, who arrived at the shelter Sept. 30, 2019. Hoopeston Animal Rescue said his “past life was full of neglect and abuse.”

Hoopeston is about a 115-mile drive south from Chicago.