No one is quite sure what breed Bruno is. But there’s no doubt what type of dog he is.
“He’s a love bug,” said Nevin Taylor, who said he’s Bruno’s foster brother. “He always wants to come up next to you and be next to you.”
Taylor’s mother, Jennifer Ovalle, is Bruno’s foster mom.
“Never snapped at anybody, does great with kids,” she said.
Watching his calm demeanor, it’s hard to believe he used to be part of a dangerous problem.
Bruno was one of the thousands of stray dogs running rampant across Dallas, particularly in the southeast part of the city.
Bruno was considered the patriarch of a pack of strays that was living outside a steel company in 2017. Employees there worried about the dogs’ safety and their own.
They reached out to Duck Team Six, a non-profit animal rescue that has humanely captured hundreds of dogs just like Bruno, watching them for weeks or months to learn their habits, and then coaxing them into pens with food.
“They’re not going to get help if we don’t help them, and they’ve kind of been neglected by society already,” said co-founder Yvonne Ybarra. “They’re not the fluffy, cute dogs that are going to get picked first in a shelter situation. These dogs have been through a lot. Most of them are going to do really well in a home, they just need someone to show them the ropes and show them how to live inside – they’ve had to survive a long time on the streets.”
Duck Team Six team members place the dogs they rescue in foster homes and, when the dogs are ready, adopts them out.
Ovalle knew shortly after taking in Bruno in November 2017 that he was special.
“He’s so calm,” she said, as he cuddled up with her on her couch. “He digs his little snout into your arm.”
Because of Bruno’s temperament, adopting him out was easy.
But the family that took him in wasn’t in it for the long haul.
“Unfortunately, this person decided they wanted to have a family of cats in their home,” Ybarra said. “They decided Bruno had to go, and with no warning, called us up and said they were taking Bruno to the shelter.”
Brooke Thurston was the woman who adopted Bruno. She said he was aggressive toward the cats she was fostering, and that he lunged at her while she was holding one of the cats in her hands.
Brooke said she did her best to keep him, but she felt he was too aggressive in her home.
But no one knew what his fate might be at a shelter.
“We just went into overdrive,” she said.
Overdrive is an understatement.
Bruno’s family had moved to Minneapolis. Within days of that call, Ybarra raised money for a flight. Donors gave her points to cover a hotel. She flew to Minnesota, spent one night, and drove Bruno 16 hours home to Texas.
“Everybody was just so committed to getting him home safely,” Ybarra said. “He was a perfect dog in the car.”
Ybarra was determined to go, not just an extra mile, but 900 miles – to give Bruno a second chance, again.
“Honestly Duck Team Six wouldn’t be what it is without Yvonne,” Ovalle said. “I’m getting emotional. She’s just so good and cares about all these dogs.”
“You know, Bruno is safe because of all the things you’ve done – not just once, but twice,” she told Ybarra.
Bruno is temporarily back with Jennifer and her family but will be up for adoption again soon.
Ybarra said they will thoroughly vet each applicant to make sure this time he finds the perfect forever family.
They’re already a perfect example of a lesson so many of us need to remember: most every living creature can love, they just need to be shown a little love first.