Merrick adopted after benefactor paid $3,000 for his photograph to appear on a giant billboard

This article is more than 6 months old

This article is more than 6 months old

A dog who waited more than five and a half years in a Kansas City shelter for adoption has found a permanent home after a benefactor paid $3,000 for his photograph to appear on a giant billboard.

Merrick, a six-year-old mixed breed, sat for dozens of photoshoots and videos in a prolonged but unsuccessful social media campaign to find him a home during more than 2,000 days’ confinement at the Humane Society shelter.

Nobody came for him until his new owner, Jordan Nussbaum, saw the photograph on a billboard in the city and persuaded his girlfriend that Merrick was the dog they wanted.

“It breaks my heart that he sat there but I think it was destined that he waited that long,” Nussbaum told Kansas City TV station KMBC.

“It was love at first sight. What they wanted was someone without kids who had a lot of energy to keep up with him because he’s a huge dog. But he’s still a puppy.”

The billboard was paid for by Scott Poore, owner of Mission Driven, a Kansas-based clothing company that gives financial support to shelters for homeless pets.

“It’s unbelievable it was this hard of a process,” he said. “We were telling the same story to the same audience for those five and a half years but when Mission Driven bought the billboard we reached a whole new audience.”

Staff at the shelter threw a farewell party last week for Merrick, who is enjoying the freedoms of his new life by running around the large yard and drinking from the toilet.

Nussbaum reported that Merrick has also taken a liking to a female dog that lives next door.

He has also become a social media star in his own right, the Facebook page Merrick the Rescue Pup amassing more than 2,200 followers in its first few days.