A golden retriever is finally enjoying the kind of life every dog deserves after nearly a decade spent living in a puppy mill.
Aubrey Turner, a 25-year-old optometric scribe from Fort Wayne, Indiana, shared a post to her Instagram, @seniorboybruce, showcasing the story of her 9-year-old rescue dog Bruce and how she helped the "sadness in his eyes" fade.
Bruce came into Turner's life at a time when she was still mourning the sad loss of her previous dog, Basil.
"Basil was a Shiba Inu, who was 3 years old when she passed," Turner told Newsweek. "Saying goodbye was extremely difficult for my wife, Kori Halter, and I, as she was the first dog either of us ever owned as adults, without our parents being the main caregiver."
In 2023, a Pew Research Center survey of U.S. pet owners found 97 percent consider their four-legged friends as family. So, when a family member passes, particularly in a situation where they were taken young, like Basil, it can be difficult to take.
Turner said that she and her wife spent several months mourning the loss of Basil, but then realized they "really missed having a dog in the house." She added: "We missed the chaos, the reason to get up even on the hardest mornings, the shadow following you around the house, all of it."
Eager to adopt but conscious that, given they had four cats, whatever canine they took in was feline-friendly, the couple set their sights on adopting a golden retriever.
That's how Bruce came up on their radar. All Turner knew about Bruce from looking at his adoption profile was that he was 9 and heartworm-positive. She nevertheless saw his smile and felt an "intense desire" to meet him.
It was only then that she discovered the heartbreaking journey Bruce had been on to get this far and the devastating impact it had had on him. "I found out from shelter staff that Bruce was actually rescued from a puppy mill, and had been used as a stud dog for breeding his whole life," Turner said. "He was rescued from a small shed tucked in the woods on the property, and was definitely neglected."
Bruce had double ear infections and a weak rear leg; was heartworm-positive; and had really bad callouses on his back legs from sleeping on a wooden shed floor for so many years without any beds, blankets, straw, or hay.
Though Bruce's fortunes would change for the better from the minute Turner took him home, it took time for the senior shelter pup to adjust to his new surroundings. "While Bruce definitely became attached to us within the first few days, it took Bruce a good two to three months before I'd say he truly felt comfortable and safe in our home," Turner said.
Bruce would often cry when left alone. He was terrified of the staircase in Turner and Halter's home and refused to even contemplate going up them. On days when he was home alone, Bruce would pace the floor, waiting for someone to return.
But Turner and Halter were determined to show their rescue pup that things were different now and they would be there for him. For two months, they slept on the couch downstairs alongside Bruce. In time, he began to let his guard down and eventually felt brave enough to climb those stairs.
Now, nearly nine months on from his initial rescue, Bruce is a dog transformed. "He is completely comfortable in our home," Turner said. "He sleeps peacefully when we leave the house, no longer pacing anxiously. He is an incredibly happy dog, who always has a smile on his face. He loves people, loves his feline siblings, and absolutely adores his mamas."
Turner created Bruce's Instagram page to share his story and encourage others to adopt older canines like Bruce. "Give the senior dogs a chance," she said. "A lot of senior dogs get overlooked in shelters for numerous reasons, but they deserve a loving home just as much as the younger dogs in shelters, if not more."
Bruce has come a long way since Turner took him home with the "sadness in his eyes." Now the hope is others can do the same for the many senior dogs still waiting for their chance in shelters up and down the country.