George was surrendered to Four Footed Friends by the staff of a nursing home that closed and none of the staff were able to adopt him.
“He was stuck in his kennel and wanted attention so bad since he was used to being with people as an emotional wellness pet,” Alex Valeski, director, said.
With the hope that George would find new employment in his field, Alex put an alert on Facebook.
Very soon after posting the alert, an application was submitted by and soon approved for the Forest Hills Personal Care Home in Sidman, Penna.
“Forest Hills already has a mini-horse, bunnies, and parakeets, but no cats,” Alex said.
“Having George has been fantastic,” Brianna Kish, director of activities at Forest Hills, said. “He’s such a little cuddle bug – we call him our ‘Loaf.’ He just rolls over and purrs when he’s being petted.”
George’s story began to attract attention from various news organizations and social media accounts.
Jessica Guay from KDKA News in Pittsburgh soon reached out, and covered George’s adoption in a news story which aired on February 6.
Several social media sites also picked up George’s story, including That Good News Girl YouTube channel (https://www.thatgoodnewsgirl.com/), which promotes “stories that put a smile on your face – every day.” Geobeats (https://www.geobeats.com/), which shares “stories of humans being good to animals,” also featured George.
Brianna said other than making sure George’s litter box is clean and feeding him, there are many more benefits to having a pet in the facility vs. any of the work.
“You can see the residents’ faces light up when he’s in the room,” Brianna said. “It’s worth any housekeeping that may be involved.”
For other facilities that may be considering getting their own George, Brianna encourages them to contact their local Department of Human Services to get more information.
“If our story inspires even one home to do this, it will be so worth it,” she said.