Every tail deserves a wag.

While walking through Dallas Animal Services on a hot Texas summer day, our mission was to find a dog that needed a good day out. Browsing through several aisles of adorable puppies needing a home, we stumbled upon 7-month-old German Shepherd Lyndon.

Lyndon's original owner surrendered her to Dallas Animal Services after only one month with her, due to his landlord not allowing him to have pets at his property.

Full of love and excitement to have a day away from the shelter, Lyndon shot right out of the cage to come spend time with us.

Spending no time outside of the shelter to use a restroom break, 7-month-old Lyndon was off to the races to the car and ready to get her day started. After buckling her in, we got started driving her to Klyde Warren Park to get some good food at the food trucks. In the backseat, she curled into our laps, licking us all over.

On the walk there, she quickly found herself stuck in a bush. Lucky for her, we stopped right next to the burger truck, offering Doggy Patties with peanut butter and bacon!

After rapidly eating her meal, Lyndon got a tour of Tommy Habeeb's office, and out of excitement and joy, she urinated all over the office floor. Trying to tire out little Lyndon was no easy task, but after spending the entire afternoon in the office and running around at the park, Lyndon was finally worn out.

Closing out a long day of fun, it was eventually time to return Lyndon back to Dallas Animal Services. She slept the whole car ride back, tuckered out and ready to go to bed.

After a wonderful day with precious Lyndon, we were desperately searching to find her a home. Eventually, creating content and spreading the word of the sweet puppy paid off, and we were able to find Lyndon a home. Less than 24 hours after posting some content of Lyndon and her eventful day, we found a young lady willing to adopt the young, eager German Shepherd.

I ran to the shelter. Bryce was scheduled to be euthanized that morning at 11. Bryce is a 2-year-old mixed breed pup that had been surrendered to Dallas Animal Services over 50 days ago. The shelter is critically over capacity — its live release rate for dogs barely crosses 75%.

Arriving at 11:02, I panicked. I sprinted over to his kennel, 1419A. To my relief, he was still there. After begging and pleading with staff, they kindly agreed to postpone his euthanasia by two days. That's all I had: 48 hours.

Bryce ran up to me, tail whipping. He whined and whined, as if he understood the urgency engulfing us. With his silky black coat shining in the sunlight and long tongue sticking out, Bryce was ready for his day out!

At 52 pounds with unstoppable energy, I was afraid he would leap onto me mid-drive. Instead, he proved to be absorbed in the scenery outside the window, soaking it all in. He knew exactly where he wanted to go for a walk, so I followed him. We found ourselves with a scoop of vanilla ice cream from Insomnia Cookies that he swallowed in one bite!

He walked up to strangers to say hi with no luck — all of them either had dogs or cats and couldn't foster or adopt Bryce. When I stepped away to use the restroom and left him with a friend, I could hear Bryce's loud whimpering through the door. He jumped and licked me all over when I returned.

On Katy Trail, an Alaskan Husky yanked its owner over to Bryce and began barking and leaping towards us. Instead of growling or attempting to assert his dominance, he stuck by my side with an unaltered stride. He posed for every photo, tongue sticking out, looking right into the camera majestically.

When we arrived back at the shelter, he began to whine and whimper again. It broke my heart. I left the shelter crying. My tears continued falling all the way to my hair appointment.

I posted all over my Instagram and spammed every group chat hoping someone would come through. Anyone. To save his life. My hair stylist peeked over my shoulder to get a glimpse of my Instagram story. She asked me more about him, but I could see in her eyes that her heart was breaking just like mine.

The next morning, the update arrived. She texted me that she filled out an application to foster Bryce!

While helping dogs on the euthanasia list is emotionally devastating, dogs like Bryce are always worth it. They are ready to give you all of their love and affection, for nothing in exchange. Bryce is still up for adoption at Dallas Animal Services!

Scrolling through the Dallas90 Emergency Placement list, I came across 3-year-old Cholo and Gojo, pit bull mixes surrendered to Dallas Animal Services in early May. Following three large-scale criminal and cruelty seizures that week, the shelter was critically over capacity. Gojo was scheduled for euthanasia the next morning, whereas Cholo had two days.

Driving up to the shelter, we saw a line protruding outside the front doors of people looking to foster or adopt dogs and cats. We walked in and immediately asked for Gojo, hoping to find him a home or give him the best last day of his life. His adorable hazel eyes matched his light grey coat in the sunlight.

Gojo's tail whipped my thighs at every step, unable to contain his excitement. As soon as he jumped into the car, a lady rolled down her window and asked us, "Is that Gojo?" She said she was coming in to foster or adopt him after finding him on TikTok! We handed Gojo to her and decided to take Cholo instead.

When I heard that Cholo was surrendered for his behavior and couldn't share a kennel with another dog, I was afraid — I would definitely lose to a 54-pound pit bull. But he turned out to be the most well-behaved dog I've ever met.

He hopped into the back seat and calmly curled up on the towel. After taking a whiff of his teeth when he licked me, we decided he was long overdue for a spa day. A special thanks to White Rock Pet Grooming for helping us bathe and clean sweet Cholo! He was the easiest dog to take care of — his calm demeanor didn't break into a single bark or whine, including when the loud, scary dryer came out.

On the way out, an employee from Dairy-Ette, an old-school hamburger restaurant, walked up to us to bring Cholo a hamburger patty! She even offered me a drink as her treat while taking a photo of him to share with her friends and family. In the car, I began munching on my own hamburger and, to my surprise, Cholo simply turned his head from me to look out the window. He didn't even try to steal or beg for it — and I bet his nose smelled it!

Then, at the office, we took him off the leash and got into a spirited game of catch. We edited the videos we had compiled of him all day and posted them on Instagram with the hopes that someone would come through — someone would save sweet Cholo's life.

And he did. I woke up the next morning to Dallas Animal Services' post on Cholo going home with a foster family that plans to keep him until he gets adopted!

On my first day as an intern, I walked into Tommy's office with a heavy heart. Sweet Zoey, a 10-year-old German Shepherd surrendered at Dallas Animal Services, was going to be euthanized in two days, as the shelter was 159% over capacity.

I expected consolation. But instead, he gave me hope: he said, "Let's bring her in, see if we can't find someone who wants to adopt her."

The next morning, I drove down to Dallas Animal Services to see large dogs locked in tiny kennels, barking and pounding at the door with the hope of finding their forever families. Four four-month-old German Shepherd puppies caught my attention: attempting to leap towards me behind the door, they toppled over one another. As soon as I made eye contact with a pit bull named Princess, she stretched out of her bed cushion and stared at me with puppy eyes. But unlike the other dogs that had only spent a few weeks here, Zoey had been stuck at the shelter for over 45 days, waiting to be chosen.

When I walked up to her kennel, she licked my nails and watched me calmly. Her pointy ears perked up and she stretched her tan paws through the fence. I easily slipped her leash on, and her fluffy grey tail couldn't stop wagging. Despite passing six aggressively barking dogs, her jaunty pace remained steady and she didn't flinch. Even as a five-foot-tall girl, I felt completely comfortable with 70-pound Zoey because of her calm and gentle demeanor. She leaped into the car on the way to Tommy's office, leaning out the window to embrace the breeze.

At the office, I let her free off the leash and she ran from one side to the other, exploring every room. Her magnificent stride revealed no injuries, and her excitement and upbeat energy hid her age easily. I presented her with a treat to discover that she knew the commands sit, shake, and down on the first try!

We told our friends all about her and waited, hoping and praying. Just in time, Keith reached out and asked to meet her. She immediately picked up her pace to greet him, nuzzling up to his knees and admiring him with her beautiful brown eyes.

Keith took one look at her and fell in love. He said, "She's coming home with me today."

The Forever Family Foundation handed him complimentary multivitamin and hip-and-joint chews to keep her healthy for the rest of her life. Many families avoid adopting older dogs due to health conditions that lead to expensive vet bills, so these preventative chews are an extremely important resource for dogs like Zoey.

Keith and Zoey found their best friends in each other — to countless neighborhood walks, catch in the backyard, and lazy nights in.