But Lawrence Humane staff were committed to Gibson, every single staff member doing all they could to support Gibson’s mental health and find a positive path forward for him. The Behavior Team worked extensively with Gibson, making sure that he had food puzzles and other enrichment to work his brain. The Medical Team provided Gibson with anti-anxiety medication. The Adoptions and Animal Care Teams took Gibson out to play fetch and enjoy some one-on-one time. Our Volunteer Coordinator sent Gibson out on as many Mass St. Mutt outings as possible, making sure that he had time out of his kennel and opportunities to decompress. The Marketing Team came up with new and creative ways to market Gibson to adopters and fosters. But despite everyone’s efforts, Gibson remained stuck at the shelter without any prospects in sight…until we met Karli.

For the first time in her life, Karli found herself without a dog and decided this was her opportunity to foster. She and her husband, Jeff, were open to whichever dog needed a foster home most, no matter what challenges that dog might have, and Gibson was that dog. As he settled into his foster home, it became clear that Gibson had a special connection with Karli. Three days after bringing Gibson home, Karli fell into a grand mal seizure, with Gibson by her side. In the days following the seizure, Karli and her husband realized that Gibson had detected that she wasn’t feeling well and tried to alert her to what was happening. And in the days and months that followed, as Karli worked with her medical team to figure out what was happening, Gibson stayed right by her side. He alerted her when he felt something coming on, put his head in her lap to ground her as she emerged from seizure activity, and even went as far as to find Karli’s husband in another room and bring him to Karli during a seizure. Karli had become Gibson’s person and he was going to do all he could to keep her safe.