AUBURN — Some things are just meant to be.

Kaiser, a 6-year-old mixed breed, had been at the Greater Androscoggin Humane Society in Lewiston for nearly a year and a half without making a connection.

That changed June 22, when Lynne Schmidt and Brandon Footer stopped by the shelter to make a donation in honor of Enyo, their dog who had just passed away.

The roommates, who live in the Lewiston-Auburn area, were thinking about getting another dog, likely on the younger end. But that changed when they saw Kaiser. His story tugged at their heartstrings.

Just losing one of their dogs and an older dog needing a home? It felt like fate, said Schmidt.

“The first time they met, that dog turned away from us and towards the two,” said Carolynn Muller, a certified animal care and behavior manager for the shelter. “We were left high and dry because Kaiser never did this. It felt great being ignored by him.”

A few visits later, and after 449 days, Kaiser had his forever home.

“”When that magic happens, that connection is made between the human and the dog, it’s just magic moment that Kaiser knew he was home,” Muller said.

KAISER’S STORY

“Sometimes you have to pinch yourself to see if it’s real,” Muller said. “All the starts aligned and it was just meant to be.”

Kaiser’s story begins in December 2021. At 6 months old, the mixed breed puppy was brought to the Humane Society — maybe because the family could not handle the puppy, Muller said. Records are unclear.

In 2022, he was adopted by another family and was homed for three years. At some point during that time, Muller said, Kaiser was given to another owner and because of lifestyle changes, that owner surrendered the dog back to the Humane Society.

That began Kaiser’s long stint in the shelter — one of the longest times for any animal at the shelter.

According to Muller, the turnaround time for a dog to be adopted is between a few weeks to a few months.

“To have a dog here that long, it can be worrisome,” Muller said. “Some dogs can fall apart being in a shelter that long. But not Kaiser.”

Then came June 22. Schmidt and Footer met Kaiser and started to become attached, and even more so when they heard his story.

“The apartment felt so small without (Enyo),” Schmidt said. “We fell in love with Kaiser the first time we saw him.”

Over the next month, Footer and Schmidt returned to the Humane Society to visit Kaiser. In early July, the two held their first “sleepover,” bringing him home for a few days before returning him back to the shelter. They had another sleepover with him the week of July 19.

Schmidt and Footer said they talked at great lengths about whether they’d be able to manage his behaviors and whether they’d be able to keep their cat Pickle safe.

Ultimately, the two said what it came down to was a simple question: “If not us, then who?”

‘MISUNDERSTOOD’ DOG

Kaiser could be socially awkward, Muller said. These types of dogs often lack social skills and tend to stick close to staff members or owners rather than mingling with other pets.

“I’m not sure why a lot of people didn’t want to adopt Kaiser,” Muller said. “”He’s got these goofy attributes about him when he’s meeting people. And if he’s not comfortable with anyone, he will move away from them. I think a lot of people want to keep coming forward and meet him, and he barks because he gets excited, but some people may perceive that as the dog being scared, which was not the case.”

However, Muller said working with Kaiser through enrichment programs and playing with other dogs, they were able to watch him become more comfortable and confident.

The words “resilient” and “misunderstood” were used when Muller was describing the mutt.

Through their visits with Kaiser, Schmidt and Footer learned the dog did not like men, constantly barking if men get too close to him.

However, this was not the case for Footer. When he did a solo visit with the dog, he was very worried about whether Kaiser would like him. That all went away when the dog immediately jumped up to lick him.

“You just knew that it was happening,” Muller said. “This was a well-deserved time we spent with Kaiser and the search for his forever home.”

‘A VERY SWEET BOY’

Schmidt and Footer brought Kaiser home for good July 18. He has been nothing but a joy.

“He’s been a very sweet boy,” Footer said. “He’s been an absolute pleasure at home. Yes he does have a lot of energy, but that’s something we’re working on and used to when we had Enyo. He likes to lay with you and play with you and he does these barrel rolls. If you’re sitting on the couch he’ll barrel roll on your lap.”

“One day, he laid on my face for a half hour,” Schmidt said. “And he’s a heavy boy. He’s over 60 pounds. All that weight on my face I thought my jaw was going to dislocate but it was great. We just snuggled and I held him like a teddy bear and he’s been wonderful in many, many ways.”

Pickle loves dogs, especially the pair’s other dog, Zoë. Kaiser’s relationship with the cat seems to be growing by the day.

“Yesterday, Kaiser was laying on the bed with the cat,” Footer said Tuesday.

“(Pickle) also went over and went between his paws and rubbed up against him,” Schmidt said. “We have to tell Kaiser, ‘Good boy! We’re not going to eat the kitty!’ He’s made a lot of progress on the cat front.”

Kaiser now sits and waits for treats, and they’ve taught him some commands.

“He’s made some very significant strides in the few weeks he’s been home with us,” Footer said. “I have hope and faith that he’ll be a model dog citizen here shortly.”

The pair are more than willing to navigate that long road with him.

“It’s not going to be overnight and he’s not going to be perfect,” Footer said. “He’s had four-and-a-half years of instability and that’s a big change.”

“Being able to rescue from the shelter and taking one of their longest dogs has been a blessing,” Schmidt said. “When people rescue animals, they immediately expect them to come out of the gate so good. But they need decompression time, time to feel safe.

“We want Kaiser to realize the world isn’t a scary place and we’ll show him that through time.”