Shelter Dog Has No Idea His New Family Is Waiting Outside

For a dog named Drove, the day felt like any other at the shelter.

He lay on his comfy pillow, curled up in a nap, just like he had so many times in the past six months he'd been there.

He couldn't possibly have known that this afternoon would be different - and that his new parents were waiting right outside to meet him.

Drove came to the Humane Society of Memphis & Shelby (HSM&S;) in October after its cruelty investigator found him tied up in an abandoned house. The terrier mix, who's now 5, quickly became popular with the shelter staff.

"One of my favorite things about him is how, if you're sitting there petting him and you stop, he'll nudge your hand to get you to keep petting him," Katie Pemberton, marketing and communications manager at the HSM&S;, told The Dodo. "He was definitely a favorite around here, and everyone knew him as a really easy, laid-back dog. Very gentle and sweet."

Yet he had been passed over for months - until April, when Morgan Hoog and her husband, Tyler, turned up at the shelter.

Morgan's 13-year-old boxer had passed away in the fall, before she married, and she missed having a dog around.

"We were explaining to the front desk that we wanted a dog that would be our best friend and hang out with us all the time," Morgan told The Dodo. "We wanted a sweet dog that could be around children. All the humane society employees said that we needed Drove."

After they met him, they were sure he was the one.

"When I received the call that we could adopt him, I was so happy I was holding back tears," Morgan said.

She and Tyler showed up on a recent Wednesday to take him home. One of his favorite shelter workers, Catey, woke him from his nap.

He was a little confused at first.

But he quickly remembered his new family, who renamed him Samson, aka Sammy.

And then he was off to his new home.

Morgan and Tyler are glad that they got to give an abused dog a second chance.

"We wanted a dog that had previously had a hard life, because we wanted to shower the dog with love," she said.

He's adapting well to home life, Morgan added. While timid at first, he took only hours to warm up to his new parents.

"Since the first night we brought him home, he hates to leave our side," Morgan said. "If my husband or I get up to grab some water, or leave the room for a second, he follows us to make sure we are not leaving."

See the full video of Sammy walking out to greet his new family below. And you can catch his earlier nap here.

If you'd like to adopt a dog who's also "a giant sweetheart and great listener" - as Morgan calls Sammy - you're in luck. The HSM&S; is hosting a huge adoption event Friday and Saturday.

If you don't live in the area, visit your local shelter or get started at Adopt-a-Pet.com.