‘Mr. Grouch himself, Emmett’ July 31, 2025
“Emmett was a grouchy old chihuahua that I met back in 2016 while I was working in the medical department. He had barely passed his behavior evaluation and needed to have several rotten teeth removed, leaving him practically toothless.
He was a bit of a jerk to nearly everyone he met. Another staff member and I had bonded with him while he recovered from his dental surgery and ended up adoring him. We would take him to the break room for lunch, where he would sit on the arm of the couch and beg for food, and let him hang out with us in the medical department during down time.
I remember one of the behavior staff warning me not to take his collar off, because they had a heck of a time getting it on him. I remember saying, “Like this?” as I proceeding to remove and reattach his collar. I had seriously considered adopting him, worried that he’d struggle to find a home with his grouchy attitude. I even took him home to see how he’d do around my cats (he was wonderful with them).
While I was going back and forth trying to decide if I should adopt Emmett, an elderly man came in looking for a small dog to adopt that would just sit and watch TV with him. I knew just the dog, Mr. Grouch himself, Emmett.
The man ended up adopting Emmet, and just as I had imagined, they spent their days watching daytime TV and taking naps together on the couch. I am so glad I waited to adopt Emmett, because he ended up finding the best possible home.”
-Whitney, the Director of Animal Welfare at NHS
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