When Jake was dropped at an animal shelter in Corsicana, Texas, the 5-year-old border collie had no idea what was happening.

His elderly owner explained to staff that he had no time to care for the dog anymore but, for Jake, there was no explanation given as to why he was so far from his home and his other dog friends. The day his owner walked away, Jake stopped smiling.

“He’s been through a lot,” Stacey Silverstein, cofounder of Rescue Dogs Rock NYC, told The Dodo. “He was very devastated obviously. Then he was thrown into a shelter environment for a few weeks.”

Jake went from being able to roam his house freely, to being stuck in a small, cinder block kennel. The shelter staff hated to see such an active dog withdraw a little more each day, so they contacted Rescue Dogs Rock NYC.

From his shelter kennel, Jake was transferred to a veterinary office for three weeks of quarantine and observation. Unfortunately, that meant more time spent in a small box.

“Basically, he just sat in a vet cage,” Silverstein said.

When it was finally time for Jake to make his way up to New York to find his forever home, his rescuers were certain he’d be snapped up immediately. But time passed and no applications came through for Jake.

“He’s stunning,” Silverstein said. “It just baffled me as to why he wasn’t adopted. This is one I couldn’t understand.”

Due to lack of space and foster families, Jake went from a shelter kennel in Texas to a cramped vet kennel to yet another small vet cage in New York.

“We didn’t really have a place for him and I was very upset because he was sitting at our vet,” Silverstein said. “We had our trainer there to assess him, and our trainer said, ‘Oh my God, why is this dog sitting in a cage? He’s phenomenal. He’s great with other dogs. He’s fantastic with people. What are you doing, Stacey? Get him out.’”

Silverstein took to social media and began posting photo after photo of Jake. Finally, the messages of interest started rolling in — people offering to foster and adopt the sweet dog.

When Jake got in the car with his forever family, the look of joy on his face was something his rescuers hadn’t seen before.

“To me, it looks like Jake finally knows he’s safe and on to a better life,” Silverstein said.

After a week at home with his new family, Jake has adjusted well to life outside of the kennel bars. He has a large grassy yard to play in and a sweet dog sibling to cuddle with. And, most importantly, he has the love of a family once again.

“I’ve only heard positive things,” Silverstein said. “That everything is great, and he’s doing amazing, and they love him.”