Guerro, a husky and German shepherd mix, came into Hugo Paredes’ life by literally showing up on his doorstep one Saturday morning.
“At first I ignored the dog, thinking he was just on a walk with his owner. But when I went outside, there was no owner, and he was not on a leash,” Paredes says.
He called San Diego Humane Society’s Oceanside Campus, but when staff arrived, Guerro ran off. The dog found his way back to Paredes’ doorstep, and oddly wouldn’t let anyone other than Paredes put him on a leash. “It was like the dog only wanted to listen to me,” he says.
He asked SDHS staff if he could keep Guerro. They informed him that they needed to scan the dog for a microchip first, then find the owner.
Later that day, Paredes received a phone call: Guerro’s owner had been found, but didn’t want to claim him because he kept running away. Paredes was offered the chance to go through the adoption process to bring Guerro home, and he immediately did so. Two days later, Guerro joined the family.
“He’s such an amazing dog and a big part of our family,” Paredes says. “Our kids love him so much.”
SHARE YOUR STORY: If you have an adoption story you’d like to share, email us at casey@sandiegopetsmagazine.com with a photo of your pet for possible inclusion in a future issue.