A Plott hound mix was first discovered running down the street in Charleston, West Virginia by a Good Samaritan. He quickly picked up the dog and dropped him off at the Kanawha-Charleston Humane Association, an organization that promotes and advocates the humane treatment of animals. The staff welcomed the dog into the shelter and named him Picasso.
Funnily though, a computer error resulted in his name missing one letter s so he was officially Picaso instead of Picasso. He wasn’t wearing any collar and they weren’t able to find any microchip. Sadly, no one also came to claim him but the staff was more than happy to have him around.
In just a short time, everyone in the shelter noticed Picaso’s kind and well-behaved nature. That was why he already earned himself a spot walking in a local holiday parade with dogs like him who needed homes. And Kim Vigneau, a shelter volunteer, who had the pleasure of walking Picaso down that night aimed for him to get adopted. She knew that his sweetness was something that people would love.
During the parade, among hundreds of people, Picaso became immediately drawn to one girl. The girl was 16-year-old Abby Ellis and she was having an anxiety attack due to her condition postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS) that impacts her blood flow. Her head was down on her legs and she would’ve face-planted into the ground if it weren’t for Picaso who rushed to help her.
Picaso also comforted Abby, booping her with his nose as if asking her if she was okay. Abby started to pet Picaso and quickly felt safe in a sea of people. When her mom Melissa Smoot arrived, she then asked for the dog’s name. Unfortunately, Melissa had to get Abby home for her safety so they quickly parted ways.
But that interaction left Melissa thinking about Picaso so the next day, she and Abby came by the shelter.
When Picaso saw Abby, he remembered her at once and he gave her the sweetest hug. At that moment, Melissa knew that this dog was already part of their family. And what made this moment more memorable was that Melissa knew Abby had been asking for a dog for the longest time. On the other hand, she kept praying for a sign from God that her daughter was ready for one.
Meeting Picaso was definitely the answer to that prayer.
