Lana was just a puppy when she was found on the streets and brought to the Arizona Animal Welfare League & SPCA, where she was soon adopted.
Unfortunately for the bullmastiff mix, the person who took her in returned her to the shelter after three years. And just like that, the dear old furball lost her family and her home.
Four months later, poor Lana still hadn’t found a new family to call her own. And after having a home for such a long time, it was hard for the pooch to adjust to life in the shelter again.
One shelter staff took pity on Lana and decided to stage a “sit-in”. Whitney Steele, director of volunteers and events at the shelter, locked herself inside Lana’s kennel, where she vowed to live 24 hours a day, seven days a week, until Lana finally found a home once more.
Steele went to such extremes in order to garner attention not only to Lana’s case, but also for the hundreds of other “Lanas” in shelters all over the US.
And the human in the kennel did not allow herself to receive any special treatment: in order to really understand what Lana goes through every day, Steele lived exactly as Lana did. She slept on a dog bed on the floor, and did not leave the kennel while the dog was inside with her.
“Whitney is learning a lot about what Lana goes through every day, and even though we have an amazing facility, it’s not a comfortable, loving home,” Michael Morefield, marketing and communications manager at the Arizona Animal Welfare League & SPCA, said.
“Even after one night, Whitney has really taken that to heart and misses home, and Lana has been doing this every day for over four months. That was a hard realization.”
Word about the human in the cage spread, and soon, local businesses brought food for both Steele and Lana. She even had to hold meetings while inside the kennel — such was her dedication to Lana’s situation.
The pair were not immune to the typical issues that arise out of sharing cramped quarters. “They have really bonded and are going through all those fun roommate situations: who ate the last slice of pizza, who stole the pillow, and what to watch on Netflix,” Morefield said.
“[Lana] is a strong, independent woman who is also really humble, so Whitney is helping show her off,” Morefield said. “Everyone needs a hype man every once in awhile, and if Lana is too humble to tell people how great she is, we are going to do it for her!”
Despite her love for her temporary roomie, Steele already had a number of pets at homes, and so she was unable to adopt Lana herself. But after three days of sitting in solidarity with this lonely pooch, someone finally came by to adopt Lana. Hurrah!
Have fun with your new mommy, old girl! Please try not to eat any of her pizzas.