Long bad luck streak ends for North Carolina shelter dog named ‘Jake from State Farm’
The saga of an unlucky shelter dog named “Jake from State Farm” has finally gotten its happy ending, thanks to media coverage that drew sponsorship offers from across the country.
Jake found a new home days ago, after a string of mishaps saw him back at North Carolina’s Burlington Animal Shelter four times in three months. Burlington is about 50 miles northwest of Raleigh, along Interstate 40.
Callers from Rhode Island to Colorado offered to adopt the dog, but Jake ended up leaving with a woman who lives in Hillsborough, N.C., just 20 miles away.
Kim Murray offered to adopt Jake without even meeting him, after seeing his photo, according to Lois Dixon, the shelter’s foster coordinator. All the adoption expenses were covered by donations made in Jake’s name, she said.
“She (Murray) said that his face touched her heart and she was prepared to give him a wonderful home. In her email, she gave vet references ... to make sure that we knew she would be a good pet owner,” Dixon told McClatchy News.
“I responded to her email and she was here within the hour to meet and adopt Jake. We had other serious offers, but Kim moved fast.”
Jake will join a household that has two senior dogs, Dixon said.
He first came to the Burlington shelter in January, after first responders went to do a welfare check and found his owner dead. Jake had been trapped for days in his sleeping crate until rescuers arrived, officials said.
Jake was quickly adopted, but the family lost its home, resulting in him being brought back to the shelter just days later. He was then taken in by two foster homes, but both returned Jake due to his inability to get along with their cats, the shelter said. (Murray does not have any cats.)
A shelter volunteer took to calling him “Jake from State Farm” after he kept showing up, like the guy in State Farm’s popular commercials. The name stuck and eventually came to the attention of State Farm, which also decided to help. The insurance company sent representatives to the shelter Tuesday with a $1,500 grant check in his honor.
The money will go into a medical fund that covers pet care not in the budget, including x-rays and heart worm treatment, shelter officials said.
“Jake’s story is one of resilience, something all of us have had to learn about in the last year,” Dixon said, referring to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
“Throughout his stay with us, Jake was always happy. He seemed to make the best of the situation. We may have felt sorry for Jake’s misfortunes, but he seemed to rise above it all. Dogs have the amazing ability to do just that.”
This story was originally published March 23, 2021 at 11:56 AM with the headline "Long bad luck streak ends for North Carolina shelter dog named ‘Jake from State Farm’."