For all of us at the New Hampshire SPCA, that dog is Riley.

This darling 4-year-old pocket pittie arrived at the New Hampshire SPCA 135 days ago in pretty rough shape. She was emaciated, suffering from a severe skin infection, and was now in an unfamiliar place, surrounded by people that weren’t “her” people.

Not yet, at least.

When a dog arrives, especially one in her condition, we never know how they’ll feel about being here. We wondered if, day after day, we would be finding Riley huddled in the corner of her kennel, completely shut down and avoidant of any human interaction. We would have understood, but we wouldn’t have given up on her. We knew that we might need to put some extra time in to prove to her that she’s in a safe space with a team of people behind her. We were prepared to do that.

Just hours after being surrendered to us, though, everyone who walked into the Dog Pavilion would see the sweetest little face peering out from behind the glass. Riley parked herself right at the front of her kennel and was so interested in watching people come and go with her big, beautiful brown eyes. Staff members would smile as her too-good-to-be-true ears would flop at every single head tilt.

To this day, Riley really hasn’t moved from that spot. She’s always right at the front of her kennel, hoping whoever it is walking through the Dog Pavilion will stop in to snuggle. Nothing in this world makes Riley happier than being close to — and preferably touching — her human friends. To Riley, human friends are the world’s very best gift. Whether she has known you for five months or five minutes, she will treat you as if you’ve been her best friend for life.

There’s no doubt about it: We’ve loved every single minute spent with this girl. For our staff, she has brought us countless smiles… she has always been happy to snuggle anyone having a bad day… and has reminded us to slow down and remember the life is better spent loving others.

135 days later, Riley is still sitting at the front of her kennel waiting to go home. Over that time, this lovebug has had only ONE person schedule a time to come in and meet her. To no one’s surprise, Riley loved making a new friend, but unrelated circumstances kept the potential adopter from finalizing.

We’d imagine a big turnoff for potential adopters is Riley’s skin issues, which is hard because it isn’t something she can control and doesn’t make her any less deserving of love. While with us, Riley has been treated with a variety of oral medications, supplements, and medicated shampoo. While there has been significant improvement in her skin, Riley needs a family willing to continue monitoring and treating her recurrent skin issues.

Another factor that has made it challenging is that she needs a home without young children, dogs and cats. While we know that limits her potential adopter pool quite a bit, we also know there’s more than one potential home out there looking for an adorably snuggly dog. We just haven’t reached them yet.

Can you help us? Every share gives us a better chance at finding Riley’s forever family.

If you have been looking for a loyal best friend who has two settings (snuggles and zoomies), please give Riley a chance to steal your heart. Email info@nhspca.org to learn more today!