A dog in North Carolina made headlines earlier this week after its owners dumped him at an animal shelter. They’d seen him try to hump another male dog and thought he might be gay, so decided they didn’t want him.
Related: Dog owners dump pet at shelter because they thought he was gay
Stanly County Animal Protective Services has now confirmed the dog, named Fezco, has been adopted.
In a Facebook post yesterday, it said, “We would like to give a special thank you to Greater Charlotte SPCA for taking Fezco into their rescue! Thankfully, they had a previous adopter step up, and Fezco has been ADOPTED!!! Thank you GCSPCA for making this possible!”
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Steve Nichols and longtime partner John told WBBC Charlotte they are the couple who have adopted the dog.
Nichols said both he and John have faced discrimination in the past so felt an immediate connection to Fezco.
“We’ve been subject to that kind of bigotry and ignorance throughout our lives together, and we couldn’t always do anything about it. We looked at each other and said, we can do something about this.”
“It’s just such a silly reason to turn in a dog,” Nichols said. “We just thought it would make sense for the gay dog to be adopted by a loving gay family.”
It appears Fezco may not have been well looked after by his previous owners. He was not neutered and has heartworms. Steve and John have placed him in the care of a vet, where he will remain for a few days.
They’ve also decided to mark his new life with a new name. They’re calling him Oscar, after the Oscar Wilde. The famed, Irish writer was sent to prison in England in 1885 because of his sexual relationship with another man.
The couple, who have been together for over 30 years, already have one dog: a Terrier-Chihuahua mix called Harry.
The ASPCA says dogs can mount other dogs for a variety of reasons, and it’s no clear indication of same-sex attraction. It can be a form of masturbation for the dog or a show of dominance or control between animals. It’s sometimes a form of play or a response to stress or excitement.
Either way, whatever his sexuality, here’s hoping Oscar enjoys life with his new, judgment-free and loving family!
Related: Gay couple’s photos taken 35 years apart go viral on Twitter
TheRedLine
Cute dog. He looks like the perfect pet. I’m glad he has a home. The original owners must be like the type of people who would take a pregnant female dog’s puppies and toss them in a river right after they were born.
ZzBomb
So glad to hear this story have a happy ending. Whoever the prior owners are, they were trash.
Dallasgeo
They still are
marina
Great that he has found a loving home, especially as he was not kept in good condition. However, humping is also just a sign of dominant behaviour, nothing to do with the sexual orientation of the dog, or indeed any other animal. Hopefully that new small brother Oscar has puts him in his place in spite of size ;-)))
radiooutmike
Well, I hope the original owners have LGBTQ children.
throwslikeagirl
That’s funny, but I don’t! Can you image what horrible parents they’d be to LGBTQ kids!?
Man About Town
Harry and Oscar? So nice of these guys to name their dogs after my 2 late Jewish uncles already!
jt1990
This turned out to be a genius level move by the animal shelter! My local shelter is struggling to get people to adopt, I may suggest this pity ploy to be used in the next advertisement.
Wonder if this works with kids too? My new gf has a couple that are really becoming a nuisance…
SDR94103
how about gay couple rather than same sex couple?
DarkZephyr
Aww, heart worms? Well, at least they can be gotten rid of, though its expensive. Poor Doggy. Glad he will be OK!
alex1435
This dog has found a loving home it looks like, and that is super. The past owners are not at all worthy of having this dog as a pet, or children for that matter. There is no judgement in the animal world when male dogs hump other male dogs, dogs and other animals don’t care they are acting on instinct and if they haven’t been neutered, it happens often. The only species that judges are humans, like this idiot, ignorant family.
RyanMBecker
What an adorable face.
Those previous owners are morons. With stray and unwanted pets being a problem, you’d think that they’d welcome natural birth control in the form of homosexuality. Then again, they weren’t responsible enough to spay the dog. Cute doggie is better off without them.
barryaksarben
The previous owners are homophobic which shows how stupid they are but the WORST part of this story is the fact they had a dog and did nothing to prevent a very serious preventable illness. Heartworm has a horrible recovery rate and the dog could be sick for the rest of his life. Only ignorant selfish morons would allow their pet to get heartworms. Proving that people on the right have ZERO compassion or basic decency