When Jessica Williams and her boyfriend Jared moved into a new apartment, they were so excited. This was because their apartment complex allowed dogs, and they both very much wanted a furry companion in their lives.
Williams couldn’t wait to finally adopt a dog. She and Jared decided to get one in November, near Williams’ birthday.
Williams immediately took to the internet to try and find a shelter dog that would make a great addition to their family.
Benji didn’t look like much when she spotted him on the internet.
He was picked up as a homeless dog living on the streets of Los Angeles and taken to a local shelter. He was skittish around people and was losing most of his fur due to a flea allergy.
“He was at the shelter for 10 days and wasn’t handling it well,” Williams told The Dodo. “He would snarl and snap at people as they walked by. I had never seen a sadder dog and knew we couldn’t leave him there.”
Williams knew that all Benji needed was a little bit of love. She knew that deep down Benji was a good dog.
There was some kind of strange connection she felt with Benji. She had to take him home with her at all costs. Even if that meant taking a six-hour drive to pick Benji up.
And exactly what it took to adopt Benji.
Williams and her boyfriend drove from Sacramento to Los Angeles where Benji’s shelter was located. When they got there, the shelter staff tried to dissuade Williams from adopting him.
They actually refused to allow them to spend alone time with Benji at first.
“The shelter also told us he wasn’t friendly and refused to take us into a calm waiting area to get to know him because ‘he wouldn’t be a dog that would come over to us to be cuddly,’” Williams recalls. “We knew that he had a high possibility of being euthanized and didn’t want him to die.”
But the couple wasn’t about to give up on Benji as they already made up their minds about him.
Benji was confused the whole way back to Sacramento and still pretty wary of his new owners. But a few days after they got home, Benji started to warm up to them.
Once Benji started to trust them, he became a sweet, fun, and playful pup. Now he’s as happy as he can be. The transformation in this dog is just amazing.
“He loves to come up and lick our faces and play with his toys,” Williams said. “He is such a goofball now! He has crazy zoomies after he gets bathed. He will also start barking the second we get in the car as if to say, ‘We have to start moving! Let’s go!’”
It’s amazing to see how happy he is after seeing where his journey started.
Benji has transformed into a hugely social dog and he loves going out with his humans. He even goes to restaurants with them and quietly sits on the patio while they eat!
Benji had a very difficult beginning in life, but thankfully, Jessica and Jared took a chance on him and gave him a home. It’s amazing what a little love can do.
Check out a video about Benji below!
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