Senior Dog Has Adoption Event After 1,000 Days in Shelter—No One Shows Up
Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content.
A senior Lurcher who has spent over 1,000 days in kennels had an open day arranged just for him—but nobody turned up.
Despite being ready and willing to meet potential adopters, Flash, the 9-year-old dog, was led back to his kennel in Dogs Trust Darlington in England.
Nikki Holroyd, the shelter's manager, told Newsweek: "It was sad but he enjoyed a lovely day out of his kennel having fun with staff. He is a very playful lad."
Despite being much-loved at the shelter by staff, he has been forced to celebrate another birthday without a place to call home.
Flash sitting on the sofa and smiling with his mouth open.
Flash sitting on the sofa and smiling with his mouth open.
Dogs Trust
The staff recently threw him a birthday party with presents, playtimes and snuggles, marking his third birthday in kennels. They say they want to make sure he turns 10 with a family of his own.
"Flash is a gorgeous boy who the entire team adores, so we are struggling to understand why he has yet to find his special someone having spent nearly three years in our care," said Holroyd in a statement.
"In this time, he has only met one prospective adopter. He has many friends and admirers here at the rehoming center, but we need to find an admirer willing to offer him the forever home he deserves."
She describes him as a "playful, goofy, loving, and quick as a flash when enjoying off-lead zoomies."
"He has learnt many tricks with our training team, which he is happy to show off. He loves enrichment toys and games and laps up all the fuss and affection he can get from his canine carers," Holroyd said.
"Without fail, he makes us smile every day, and he has so much to offer as a four-legged best pal."
While he does need ongoing medical care, Flash refuses to let age slow him down. He was recently invited to a staff members home for a sleepover and they were not only impressed with his calm demeanor in the car but also in their home.
"He enjoyed a sleepover with a member of our team, and he was the perfect house guest," Holroyd said in the statement. "Flash loved the companionship and was especially fond of snoozing on the sofa.
"We are confident he will soon adapt to life in a home, so we appeal to anyone looking for a fun-loving four-legged friend to please get in touch and come and meet our boy Flash."
Flash is classed as one of Dogs Trust's "Underdogs," a term used for dogs waiting more than six months for a home. Staff say he would do best in an adult-only household as the only pet, with a garden to stretch his legs and time to get to know his new family before moving in.
Do you have funny and adorable videos or pictures of your pet you want to share? Send them to life@newsweek.com with some details about your best friend and they could appear in our Pet of the Week lineup.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Newsweek
11 minutes ago
- Newsweek
Woman Renovates Fixer-Upper House—Then Realizes What Was in the Floor
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. When Kathleen Martin of New Jersey moved into her new home, what started as a fixer-upper resulted in a mystery that has gained viral attention on Instagram. While documenting the home renovation, Martin captured the moment they found a baffling stain in the center of the living room's hardwood floor. "We noticed the stain when we first toured the house. The hardwood was in rough shape overall so we knew it would need to be refinished," Martin told Newsweek. Pictures of the mysterious stain on the floor that has sparked multiple theories online. Pictures of the mysterious stain on the floor that has sparked multiple theories online. @createacolorfullife/Instagram They brought in a professional hardwood specialist who, after some initial sanding, delivered a blunt verdict. "Yep, that's urine," he said. And after the full sand, things were no better as the smell continued. After a closer look at the stain, it became clear that it would need more to fix. "It was a few thousand dollars to patch the stained area, sand, and refinish the rest of the downstairs," Martin said. Despite fixing the floor, the mystery of the cause of the stain remained. "There are theories it may have been a cat or another animal," Martin said. "But it had to have happened over a long period. I know the previous owner's health was declining, so he might not have been able to care for an animal—or himself—properly." Read more Mom lived in house "for years'—Discovers what was in kitchen the whole time Mom lived in house "for years'—Discovers what was in kitchen the whole time The story took a further twist when a new neighbor admired the fresh floors and casually mentioned that the previous owner never had a dog. "I just said 'the old owner's dog peed a lot on the floor so we had to redo them,' and he said he didn't have a dog," Martin explained in the video. On Instagram, the video has been viewed over 340,000 times and has more than 25,000 likes. The mystery prompted lots of reaction and comments. Shared earlier this week, the caption said: "This was a curveball I wasn't expecting. "The home had been completely emptied when they did the showings so besides the stains we had no indication of who lived there previously. "A few months later we learned that the previous owner was not doing well health wise. We can't be sure where those stains came from but it broke my heart to think of him living in those conditions." "That's terrifying," viewer Deeplymadlymodern commented on the video. While Instagram user Jonathanandjennahome wrote: "The plot twist of all time." First they sanded the floors, then realized they had to be removed. First they sanded the floors, then realized they had to be removed. @createacolorfullife/Instagram "You know those three line horror stories?" said Instagram user Jennny_sama. "This is one of them." While viewer Bunnmakesstuff said: "I hate to tell you that isn't dog pee.. it's human pee." While the floor story prompted entertainment online, Martin said she hopes the story will also tell an important story. "I do know that the previous owner's health was failing so he may not have been able to care for an animal or himself properly," she said. "It's a good reminder to check in our aging relatives and neighbors." This isn't the first time a renovation has gained viral attention. Earlier this week a couple shared how their fixer-upper ended up with more than they bargained for when they realized whole sections of the house had been built using WWII ammo shell crates—stacked and nailed together as walls. While another couple found that their new home had a hidden building when they started to cut away bushes.
Newsweek
5 hours ago
- Newsweek
Is Gen Z Killing the Dating App?
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Over the past few years, there's been headline after headline saying that Gen Z isn't drinking, clubbing or having sex as much as previous generations. Gen Z, born between 1997 and 2012, has purportedly swapped out pints for Pilates, and the self-care obsessed group seems to have become disillusioned with dating, too. An unintended casualty? Dating apps. As Bumble lays off staff and Match Group embarks on a rebrand, Newsweek asks experts—are Gen Zers really not interested in dating, or are they just doing it differently? And what does it mean for the future of dating apps? The Great Dating Drought Dating apps massively altered the way people meet and connect. Pew Research Center reported in 2023 that one in 10 partnered adults met their partner on a dating site or app, rising to one in five for those aged under 30. However, that same year, an Axios survey of college and graduate students found that 79 percent of college students weren't using any dating apps. In a 2022 nationally representative U.S. survey of 2,000 adults from the Kinsey Institute and Lovehoney, one in four Gen Z adults said they were yet to have partnered sex. And there was a gender divide, with men being more likely than women to report never having had partnered sex (one in three men vs. one in five women). Photo-illustration by Newsweek/Getty/Canva More recent research points to a continued decline in dating app usage. In May, the Kinsey Institute and conducted a nationally representative survey of 2,000 single adults to examine the current dating landscape. Just 21.2 percent of Gen Z participants said that apps were their primary way of connecting, and 58 percent said they were focused on meeting in person. Dr. Justin Lehmiller, a senior research fellow at the Kinsey Institute and host of the Sex and Psychology Podcast, worked on both pieces of research. "For a generation raised on technology, most of them don't actually seem to want to use technology to find love and prefer to find it the old-fashioned way instead," he told Newsweek over email. This shift in desire may be driving a shift in the dating industry. Bumble, the dating app where "women make the first move," has lost 90 percent of its value since going public in 2021 and recently announced it is laying off 30 percent of its staff. Newsweek reached out to Bumble via an online contact form for comment. "There are a number of reasons why young adults appear to be turning away from online dating," Lehmiller said, pointing to the expense of online dating (many apps offer paid options, and going on dates can be expensive), for a generation struggling financially. Then, there's Gen Z's drive for authenticity. "One doesn't have to spend much time on a dating app to discover authenticity is often hard to come by," Lehmiller said. Taking Romance Offline So, are tech-raised Gen Zers really taking an analogue approach to dating? "Gen Z is the most digitally native generation, but that doesn't mean they want more digital disconnection—they are obsessed with the idea of authenticity," content creator and matchmaker Alexis Germany Fox told Newsweek. Fox said that Gen Z isn't interested in "endless swiping" or "surface-level bios." Beyond that, "Apps that rely solely on quick-glance attraction feel outdated to them." In a rapidly changing tech world, dating apps have already become a bit old fashioned. The first online dating site, was launched in 1995—before Gen Z was even born. Apps like Tinder, Hinge and Bumble came later, in 2012, 2013 and 2014 respectively. The youngest of Gen Z were born in 2012. "Gen Z seems to think that there are only 'leftovers' on the apps, so they aren't even worth their time anymore," Fox said. In October 2024, comedian and actor Leslie Jones said on The Drew Barrymore Show, "They just need to put all the apps on one app and call it 'What's left?'" The clip has been viewed 4 million times on TikTok, Gen Z's digital watering hole. Newsweek spoke to Dr. Jennie Rosie, an associate professor at James Madison University and host of the Love Matters podcast. Drawing on her own research, published in the Virginia Social Science Journal and the Florida Communication Journal, she said "Gen Zers want serious, long-term relationships." However, they "feel pressured by dismissive dating norms to adopt more casual practices." This leads to Gen Z "putting less focus on their long-term goals of life partnership." Rae Weiss, a Gen Z dating coach, said that this generation is moving away from dating apps because swiping feels "transactional, laborious and scripted." "The burnout from choice overload has left us craving authenticity and meaningful interaction, so we're seeking out organic ways to meet people offline," Weiss told Newsweek. "There is little incentive for genuine conversation or progressing relationships when you can always start anew. The Dating App Reinvention But this may not be a death knell for apps. "I don't think dating apps are going to disappear any time soon, but they will need to evolve if they want to get more young people to join," Lehmiller said. Match Group's Spencer Rascoff, who joined as CEO earlier this year, is leading changes to the company's apps, which include Tinder and Hinge. Tinder—long associated with "hookup culture"—specifically is undergoing a rebrand to appeal more to Gen Z. Delivering prepared remarks at Match Group's Q1 2025 earnings report, Rascoff said that to meet this generation's needs, they're "focused on building features that feel more fun and spontaneous." One such feature on Tinder includes a double date function, which has proved popular with users aged under 29. On Hinge—the dating app "designed to be deleted" and generally known for more intentional dating—Gen Z makes up more than 50 percent of users. Hinge has released specific Gen Z dating reports, the "Your World" prompts feature and "Your Turn Limits," which require users with too many matches to either reply or end the conversation before matching with new people. The shifts are being felt around the dating world. One platform that is both booming and bringing a Gen Z audience with it is Feeld. It is described on its website as an "inclusive dating app" aimed at people interested in ethical non-monogamy, polyamory, casual sex and the LGBTQ+ community. In the first quarter of 2025, Feeld achieved some 841,000 downloads—its highest number to date—according to Statista. "Feeld has always been a bit different," Ashley Dos Santos, a senior communications executive at Feeld, told Newsweek. "What we're seeing now with Gen Z especially is a broader cultural shift towards more open, intentional ways of connecting," Dos Santos said. "This generation is questioning old norms around gender, sexuality and relationships, and choosing exploration and authenticity over more rigid categories. Feeld isn't here to dictate how people should date—we're here to create safer spaces for them to define it for themselves." Dos Santos said they've seen an 89 percent increase in Gen Zers joining Feeld in the past year. "They're leading the way in forming meaningful connections on the app, and are also the most fluid generation we've seen," she said. Gen Z's sexual fluidity may be a key driver in Feeld's popularity. A 2024 report from the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) found that nearly 30 percent of Gen Z identified as LGBTQ+. To put that number in perspective, baby boomers only identified as LGBTQ+ 4 percent of the time, while millennials identified as LGBTQ+ 16 percent of the time. What Does the Future Hold for Dating Apps? As Gen Z brings a new set of preferences and problems to the dating world, it's clear that a rapid evolution of apps is necessary. "For dating apps to remain relevant, they'll need to evolve beyond the swipe," Fox said. "That might mean integrating more real-life components like curated local mixers or event partnerships and creating better in-app experiences for vibe checks." Weiss echoed this idea, saying, "I'm also seeing Gen Z place a high value on the accountability and comfort that comes from having a friend, coworker, acquaintance or institution in common. "For dating apps to stay relevant, they'll need to prioritize helping users move from online to in-person quickly and build community ties—by surfacing mutual connections and providing insight into community overlap, much like LinkedIn does when it shows where your networks intersect," Weiss said. Fox added that "Gen Z isn't anti-digital, they're anti-fake. The future of dating tech must align with that." While a world without dating apps feels unlikely, Gen Z appears to be paving the way toward a world where they are used differently. Pledge authenticity and you might get them to hit download.
Newsweek
15 hours ago
- Newsweek
Woman Defends 'Hardest Decision' to Euthanize Dog Over Behavior
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. After a year of constant training and exhausting all options for giving a reactive dog the best quality of life, one woman came to the "hardest decision" to perform behavioral euthanasia. Addie and family rescued a dog named Spirit from a shelter and welcomed him home when he was only 6 months old. It took time getting him out of his shell. She told Newsweek via TikTok that he was "very timid and scared," but they worked hard on trying to get him comfortable outside the shelter environment. However, the older he became, the worse his reactivity got to both dogs and unfamiliar humans. This eventually turned into aggression. "Many times these incidents led to us getting bitten when we tried to intervene," she said. "We had a reactive dog in the past, so we did know how to deal with this situation." The family took Spirit to several different trainers; however, each did not have a positive outcome. Then the dog's behavior became unpredictable. Aggression took over at random times, but when it was over, he also looked confused and shaken. "After over a year of continuous work and trying everything we possibly could, he went after my Shepherd mix, River, one day," Addie said. "He had him full grip in his mouth around the throat, and if I hadn't intervened in time, River wouldn't be here." That, along with his quality of life, led Addie to decide it was time for behavioral euthanasia. They felt as if they'd exhausted all options and that his suffering became too great for him to be forced to live. Screenshots from a June 28 TikTok video of an owner explaining her decision to follow through on behavioral euthanasia for her adopted shelter dog. Screenshots from a June 28 TikTok video of an owner explaining her decision to follow through on behavioral euthanasia for her adopted shelter dog. @ "... we couldn't risk rehoming him because of the risk he could get out and seriously injure a child, person, or animal," she said. The American Kennel Club defines behavioral euthanasia as the humane way to end a dog's life due to severe behavioral issues linked with aggression that could cause harm to people or other animals. These dogs are "unsafe," with the key issue being their untrustworthiness due to aggression triggers, which can either be clear or unpredictable. Viewer Reactions The TikTok video, which reached over 1 million views as of Wednesday, left viewers split on the decision to follow through on behavioral euthanasia, with many unaware this was a common crossroads pet parents experience. "Please don't ever feel bad/failed him. They were fighting demons in their heads and you freed them," one defended. Another added: "For everyone in this situation, you did the right thing. Life is too much for some dogs, they don't understand and are scared. You gave him the best life you could, you gave him a peaceful closure to this cruel world." However, others didn't see it that way. Someone wrote: "There should NEVER EVER be any dog euthanized because of behavior, are children euthanized because of behavior." A fourth user commented: "Don't agree with this at all. Any dog's behaviour can be fixed with the correct training..."
