Rex the bulldog, showing off his most photogenic side.

By Terry Witt – Spotlight Senior Reporter

            A loveable bulldog captured the hearts of everyone he met Saturday at Levy County Animal Services.

            Rex tried to make friends with each visitor he saw when he was out on a leash, but alas, he had been adopted on Friday by his new forever family. He wasn’t available for adoption.

            A second family wanted to adopt Rex Saturday, but it was too late. His new family is waiting for Rex to be sterilized. He will go to his new home on Tuesday.

            Opening on a Saturday was something new for Animal Services. The shelter normally doesn’t operate on weekends, but Levy County Commissioners agreed they would open on Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.

            For the time being, the shelter will open only on the first and third Saturdays. Director David Weatherford said he wants time to replace an employee who recently transferred to another office before going to the full four Saturdays a month.

            Rex is a happy story. The chocolate-colored bulldog found a new family to love him, but he was an abandoned stray in desperate circumstances when he was discovered on a rural Williston road.

            A lineman working along the road saw Rex trying to climb into the cab of his truck. He called Animal Services. The shelter rescued him and it wasn’t long before he found a new family.

            Eight people visited Animal Services Saturday. There was one adoption. Bronson Deputy Town Clerk Melisa Cook adopted a blue-eyed Siamese kitten for her children. The kitten was fond of looking curiously into the eyes of visitors.

            Weatherford chose to open Animal Services on the first Saturday in September, which happened to be the Labor Day Weekend. The holiday may have dampened the turnout. On the other hand, it may take time for word to spread that the shelter is open on Saturdays.

            In the early part of the day, one person showed up looking for a smaller type of dog. There weren’t any available. One family picked up a dog belonging to their father. Another family, the folks that wanted Rex but couldn’t adopt him, left without adopting. One woman walked through the kennel and looked at all the dogs. She snapped a picture of a couple of dogs.

            Rex was on a leash outside the kennel when the woman first arrived. He appeared to like her too. He seemed to like everybody.

            Rex wasn’t all that interested in having his photo taken, however. He didn’t resist. But he apparently felt he had better things to do. While standing in the shade, he appeared more interested in checking out kennel visitors and watching landfill customers driving in with their garbage a short distance away than having his photo taken. He also watched a nervous little dog he saw in one of the kennels.

            Animal Services Officer Nathan Mercer eventually coaxed Rex into having his picture taken. It was all in a day’s work for a stray that someone apparently dumped off on a rural road. He has won the hearts of his new family. Congrats to Rex.

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Enterprise Reporting by Terry Witt September 5, 2020; Posted September 5, 2020