They say that time heals a broken heart, but they rarely speak about the time needed for grieving. And Houdini definitely needed it!
When his owner passed away, this heartbroken furry boy spent weeks waiting outside his empty home in New Orleans, not realizing that he would never go back inside – ever again.
However, he never stopped hoping. He stayed true to his well-known porch, waiting for that door to open. Sadly, that never happened, but what he found instead helped him cope with his loss…
Heartbroken and Scared
Amanda Knight was walking her dog, Thor, one day when she saw Houdini sitting all alone in front of an empty home. At first, she thought the dog was waiting for someone, but then the neighbors told her his story.
As it turned out, Houdini recently lost his beloved human, and the owner’s family didn’t want to take him. Instead, they abandoned him on the street and left him to fend for himself.
“One neighbor said his owner passed away and he was let go by the owner’s family in the streets. I cried and couldn’t stop thinking about him,” Amanda wrote in a TikTok post.
She was completely heartbroken and immediately rushed into action to help this poor boy. But there was one problem – Houdini didn’t trust anyone.
Whenever she tried to approach him, he would run away.
This giant-hearted woman, along with the entire New Orleans neighborhood, spent an entire week trying to rescue Houdini (who got his name after the infamous escape artist) but with no success.
“We would sit with him for a week letting him know he would have food and scratches and love. However, he would run away when I tried to leash him. The whole neighborhood tried with no luck,” Amanda wrote on TikTok.
He was evidently still in shock at losing his owner. Scared, reluctant, and distrustful of people, Houdini would just come to eat the food that his neighbors would leave, and then he’d immediately run away.
A Turning Point
Until, one day, everything changed!
One more time, Amanda offered this abandoned boy a delicious treat, and instead of leaving as soon as possible, he stuck around! After some nice scratches on the back, she managed to put a leash around his neck, and he didn’t mind at all.
The Power of Kindness Beats Everything
Houdini’s rescuer was so excited that he finally decided to trust her. She immediately brought him home and started to search for a solution.
Aware of the shelter’s euthanasia policy, she tried to find Houdini a nice, temporary home until he was fully capable of meeting a forever family. The odds were stacked against them, but miraculously, a woman named Danni Frank reached out and decided to take Houdini in.
@frannidank
Back on my bullshit (read: catching neighborhood strays)
Meet my new foster, Houdini! @AmandaK #rescuedog #neworleans
♬ It Was Coming All Along – Maggie Rogers
It was a dream come true for the entire community! Seeing Houdini go into a better place after what seemed like forever on the streets was precious.
And the fact that he finally has someone to take care of him was just beyond words.
A Brighter Future
Today, Houdini has long moved past his grieving stage. He’s so happy in a foster home and couldn’t be more excited about what the future holds. And, most importantly, he can’t take the smile off his face!
“If this isn’t proof of what time and patience can do for a life grieving and abandoned… Dogs cannot hide their emotions,” wrote Amanda.
Once a heartbroken boy, let down by everyone, Houdini is now a brand-new dog, ready to embark upon a new chapter of his life!
