NFL’s Ronnie Stanley Asks for ‘Not-So-Adoptable Dog’ from Shelter

With so many cases of NFL players abusing dogs, Ronnie Stanley of the Baltimore Ravens is truly a breath of fresh air.

Stanley went to the Baltimore Animal Rescue and Care Shelter (BARCS) Saturday with his girlfriend and teammate, Alex Lewis, in search of a new four-legged friend.

He had just one request. “We are looking for a dog that’s been here a long time and maybe not-so-adoptable,” he told the staff, according to the BARCS Facebook page.

When Stanley was introduced to some of the dogs having difficulty finding forever homes, one in particular caught his eye: Winter, a 6-year-old Pit Bull/Retriever mix who’d been used multiple times for breeding, and then was left to die in a vacant house with no food or water. She had chewed through the drywall in an effort to escape. A good Samaritan noticed her last month and contacted BARCS.

Because she’s had several litters of puppies, Winter has a drooping belly that isn’t likely to tighten up. Dogs with distended bellies like hers are particularly hard to adopt out, Bailey Deacon of BARCS told the Baltimore Sun.

That didn’t matter to Stanley. “Well, that’s just what happens when you’ve had babies,” he told the BARCS staff, who said he showed much more interest in getting kisses from the pooch than any concerns about her physical appearance.

“It’s not a very good-looking dog per se for your happy couple or family going into a shelter looking to adopt a pet. So I knew this pet would probably have a pretty hard time getting adopted,” Stanley told the Baltimore Sun today. “It was pretty old as well, so I felt like it was a great pet for me. It’s very loving and very protective, and it’s a great addition to the family.”

He adopted Winter, and has renamed her Lola.

“We are so proud to have amazing guys like Ronnie to be role models to the kids in our city,” BARCS said on its Facebook page. “Not only does his single act of kindness make adoption cool, but it makes giving love to an imperfectly perfect dog a ‘manly’ thing to do.”

Photo via Facebook