Jessica Williams had just moved into an apartment with her boyfriend Jared. This apartment was different because they allowed dogs and Williams couldn’t wait to adopt one. Her boyfriend said that they would adopt a dog on or around her birthday in November but she was so excited, she started looking at shelter dogs right away. That is when she came across a dog that needed them more than any other.

Benji was a stray in Los Angeles and had been picked up and taken to a large public shelter. He was nervous about being around people and he had a bad allergy to fleas so he had lost most of his fur. Admittedly, Benji was not at the top of the list for most people looking to adopt a dog but Williams couldn’t forget about him.

“He was at the shelter for 10 days and wasn’t handling it well,” Williams said. “He would snarl and snap at people as they walked by. I had never seen a sadder dog and knew we couldn’t leave him there.”

The problem was, Benji was in Los Angeles and Williams lived in Sacramento with her boyfriend. It was a six-hour drive to the shelter but they knew that Benji would be worth it.

When they arrived at the shelter, they went in and told them they were interested in meeting Benji. The staff didn’t seem to have a lot of faith in him so they tried to talk to talk the couple out of adopting that particular dog.

“The shelter also told us he wasn’t friendly and refused to take us into a calm waiting area to get to know him because ‘he wouldn’t be a dog that would come over to us to be cuddly,’” Williams said. “We knew that he had a high possibility of being euthanized and didn’t want him to die.”

Even though Benji didn’t seem comfortable around people and the staff warned him of that issue, they already had their minds made up about adopting him. After Benji came into the family, they took the six-hour car ride back to Sacramento. Benji was having difficulties and was confused so it was a difficult ride but when they arrived home, they had high hopes. Benji still tried to distance himself from humans but as the days went by, something interesting happened.

When Benji realized he was in a safe and loving home, he started to come around. Soon, he was a playful, sweet dog and the faith his parents had in him was realized.

“He loves to come up and lick our faces and play with his toys,” Williams said. “He is such a goofball now! He has crazy zoomies after he gets bathed. He will also start barking the second we get in the car as if to say, ‘We have to start moving! Let’s go!’”

Benji now enjoys a loving home with his family and they take him everywhere. He goes to restaurants and sits out on the patio and he enjoys just hanging out at home. There are still adjustments that need to be made but if the first three weeks are any indication, he is going to be the dog of a lifetime.