Owen is a puppy that was found abandoned inside a broken down refrigerator. He was put up for adoption where he met his new owners Clarissa and Ivan. After searching for the perfect pup to fit their family for two years, it was love at first sight when they met Owen.

“We were not just going to get any dog,” Quintana said.  “We knew we wanted to save a life, but at the same time it had to be the right fit for us. We kind of automatically knew that this was the one.”

Quintana and Figueroa found a unique way to let the world know about Owen and to let their family and friends know they adopted a puppy. They set up a photo shoot with a local photographer to capture Owen’s adoption story. The photos have since gone viral.

Not all of these stories have a happy ending and the South Plains SPCA aims to make sure that what happened to Owen doesn’t happen to other animals. Madison Luscombe, a SPCA board member said that there’s an easy way to prevent this growing problem. 

“We highly recommend spaying and neutering as soon as you can,” Luscombe said. “We know that breeding animals is never going to end and we can’t stop it, but if you start adopting and stop shopping we can save these dogs.”