Shelter mascot: Kodiak senior dog adopted after 4 years at shelter

KODIAK, Alaska (KTUU) - A Kodiak dog found his forever home last week, after spending the past four consecutive years at the Kodiak Animal Shelter.

On April 14, newlywed couple Makayla and Christian Weeks officially adopted Ace, an 11-year-old dog from a Northwest Alaskan village.

“He filled like a spot in my heart that I didn’t know was empty,” Christian said. “He has healed a lot of stuff inside me that couldn’t be healed by anything else. He is just such a great dog. Literally just my best friend.”

According to the Kodiak Animal Shelter, Ace originally arrived in 2018 from Kivalina before he was adopted two years later.

However, the shelter said that after more than a year of being adopted, his family had to surrender him due to bad family medical news. This then led to Ace spending the next four years at the shelter.

“I’ve been here 14 years, I think, and Ace is our longest pet. I would have to say,” Jean Turman, the Kodiak Animal Shelter manager, said. “He was our mascot. Everybody loved him. He was a shelter favorite, a volunteer favorite, dog walker favorite. Everybody loved him, but nobody wanted to take on the quirks.”

According to Kodiak Shelter, Ace’s previous owner said he was known for trying to get through windows and having issues with other dogs and cats. Additionally, the shelter said that as dogs get older and stay longer at the shelter, it becomes more difficult for them to be adopted.

However, those quirks, the Weeks told Alaska’s News Source, were gone when they started short-term fostering Ace in December 2024.

“He comes in here, makes himself right at home,” Makayla said. “That’s why I am so glad we fostered him because we were like, ‘Actually, when he has the chance, he is not like that at all.’”

The couple initially had the intention of eventually adopting a puppy from the shelter. However, after that adoption did not work out, and time progressed, their bond with Ace became stronger, and it became more apparent he was meant to be forever with them.

“[Christian] would call me from the ship and then instead of saying like, you know, ‘Oh, I miss you so much,’ he would say that, he’d be like, ‘I miss Ace,’” Makayla said.

Christian said, despite the gray hair, Ace is still a one-year-old at heart.

“The best dog I have ever have ever met,” Christian said. “He wants to get up, play, run … I jumped over the couch last night, and he just followed me around. He just followed me over to the couch. And we’re just running around.”

The couple added that Ace has filled a hole in their heart.

“I was expecting like, ‘Oh well, at the very least, we’re doing something for a senior dog,’ but it’s vice versa. A senior dog is doing something for us,” Makayla said. “We were like, ‘You have a home, it’s with us.’”

The couple said they recommend people take the opportunity to foster dogs.

“Give a dog a vacation because they deserve it,” Makayla said. “Just take them into your house for a few days, let them chill out, and then at the very least you can give the shelter or whoever you’re fostering them from a little bit more inside of what they’re like in a home environment.”

They also recommend taking the chance on a senior dog at a shelter.

“[Ace] sleeps in the bed with us. He rides front seat in my Mustang,” Christian said. “This is his whole life. He may be a part of ours, but this is the rest of his life.”

You can follow Ace’s journey on TikTok: @mister.handsome4Ever.

You can visit the Kodak Animal Shelter for more details on fostering and adoption.

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