A Husky named Harvey has found his forever home despite – or perhaps because of – his unique lopsided smile. His grin was so endearing that his new parents drove all the way from their home in Seattle to the San Diego shelter where Harvey was staying to adopt him.
Husky With Lopsided Face Finds Forever Home
Sherry Lankston was scrolling through social media recently when she happened upon a pic of the adorable Husky. Lankston already had a dog and two kids with her husband, but something told her that Harvey belonged with her family.
“I just saw that happy face with his tongue rolling out the side and I told my husband, ‘That little wonky face speaks my little wonky heart and I think that’s my dog,'” she told Today.
When Lankston realized the dog was 1,250 miles away at the San Diego Department of Animal Services, she recognized that it was “outrageous” and “silly” to even consider adopting him. But Harvey got under her skin, and she kept seeing social media posts about the pup.
Harvey’s history is a bit murky. He was abandoned along with two other Huskies in the desert and was later found by a group of people on ATVs. Harvey and the other dogs followed the group on foot for miles back to their camp. A shelter veterinarian believes that Harvey’s facial deformity was caused by a bite when he was a puppy.
At the shelter, “nobody was interested in him,” Joy Ollinger, a lieutenant with the San Diego Department of Animal Services, told Today. “I was hearing people say that he was ugly or ‘Ew, look at him!'”
But the pup with the lopsided face was a favorite among staff. Ollinger bonded with him, and would invite Harvey into her office and provide him with various puzzle toys to keep him stimulated. She posted about him on social media in the hopes that he would find a forever home.
One day, Lankston messaged Ollinger, telling her that she wanted to adopt Harvey. When she got the green light, she and her two young boys hopped in the car along with their dog, River, and drove down to meet the irresistible Husky. The drive down the West Coast took three days. The family stopped at dog-friendly camps en route. Finally, they arrived in San Diego.
“It’s a big undertaking to take on another dog, especially a rescue because you never know what you’re gonna get. But we knew,” Lankston said. “First meeting I was like, ‘OK, he’s our dog.'”
“It was love at first sight!” Ollinger agreed. “It was really cute.”
After confirming the two dogs would get along, Lankston’s husband hopped a flight to San Diego to meet Harvey. Then, everyone piled back into the car and drove back to Seattle.
“He loves the rain,” Lankston said of Harvey in his new hometown. “He loves splashing in puddles and being silly. I think he really likes it here.”
Lankston wanted to share her adoption story to encourage others to consider adopting rescue animals, lopsided faces and all.
“He’s just a great dog and I wish other people would hear the story and just say, ‘You know what, let’s go check out the shelter and maybe not pass up that wonky dog in a corner because that wonky dog in the corner could be their best friend,” she said.
