Perfect Pairing: Morehead woman says her path was meant to cross with shelter’s longest resident

By Jamie Vinson

Advocate Managing Editor

Adam Grubb, Montgomery County Animal Shelter director, said Rambo leaving was a bittersweet moment.

“Rambo was a part of all of our lives he had been here so long. He was one I would personally get in the play yard with and roll around in the dirt with him.”

Grubb said Rambo has a great personality and is a fun loving, affectionate dog. His appearance and stature made him off-putting, but Grubb told the Advocate the shelter knew the right person/persons would eventually come along.

“We are super happy and already are receiving pictures of him in his new home playing with the kids, laying on the bed, sleeping on the couch. ... He’s gone from spending over a year and a half in a shelter environment to his forever home. We are all just so happy.”

In a social media post, the shelter described Rambo as an ambassador. “He helped shine a light on all shelter animals and showed just how important it is to adopt, not shop. He represented everything we hope for every animal that comes through our doors.”

Rambo was just 2 when he arrived at the shelter in December of 2024. He spent his time at the shelter being patient, loving “and nothing short of amazing,” the shelter shared.

Grubb said the shelter works hard to ensure matches between shelter animals and adopters are a good fit. 

Rambo was often a first suggestion when the shelter showed dogs in recent days to potential adopters, but not always. 

Before adopters are paired with an animal or recommendations made, the shelter obtains information about current living situations (do they rent, own, have a yard, what an adopter’s work/evening lifestyle is).

“The worst thing we can do is set a dog up for failure,” Grubb told the Advocate. A lot of people have the mentality they can walk through and look at all these animals and find a dog that chooses them.”

In reality, Grubb said shelter staff work with animals daily and know needs as far as exercise and socialization.

“We build a profile for each dog to help prevent returns and animals going into a situation that’s not necessarily a good fit.”

Grubb said he would love to see 15-20 dogs find homes in one day, but stresses “If they are returned, it’s not worth it. That’s why we take the extra time on our end  to build these profiles.”

Grubb said the support of local rescues and volunteers helps lead to some of the success stories.

The Montgomery County Animal Shelter is located at 115 Adena Drive. It is open Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to noon. It is closed Wednesdays and Sundays.

The adoption fee for dogs is $150 and $75 for cats. Cats are spayed/neutered, microchipped and receive feline/rabies vaccinations.  Dogs are DAPP 1/rabies vaccinated, chipped, spayed/neutered and wormed.