A Milford therapy dog could be the American Humane Society's next hero dog. Jeffrey is a finalist in the shelter dog category.
The 13-year-old pit bull was rescued back in 2010 by his owner, Michele Houston, from the Manhattan Animal Care and Control euthanasia list.
"I shared his post and I got like this jolt through me. And I went back, and I looked at it. I said, 'I have to adopt him' and my boyfriend said 'No, we're not getting a Pitbull.' And then he went to a football game," Houston said.
Houston then went to adopt Jeffrey, and they've been best friends ever since.
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In 2012, Jeffrey became a therapy dog. That same year, he visited students in Newtown following the Sandy Hook School shooting. Jeffrey's Joy of Giving Donation Drive is held every December in honor of the victims of Sandy Hook.
Since Jeffrey became a therapy dog 10 years ago, he's spent countless hours as a shoulder to lean on, and making people smile.
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"He really is very special soul and he's gentle and kind. He was totally untrained when I first got him. He didn't know anything. He didn't know how to sit. He would sit down on my face, he had no idea," Houston said. "He was trained 100% force-free."
Jeffrey also holds nearly 60 titles in three different dog sports.
"In 2019, he became the first Pitbull to earn the highest achievement in the sport of rally obedience. He competed in the World Cynosport Rally," Houston said.
The deadline for him to advance in the semifinals of the shelter dog category in the American Humane Hero Dog Awards is July 22.
If he wins the shelter dog category, he will go to the hero dog awards in November, where he would have a chance at being the American Humane Society's next hero dog.
You can vote for Jeffrey by clicking here.
