Family travels from Texas to Atlanta to adopt a dog

DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. - A family from Dallas, Texas traveled all the way to Atlanta Wednesday just to adopt a dog from the DeKalb County Animal Shelter.

Kendall York and Dawn Reeves said they saw a dog that needed a foster home online, but because they lived out of the state, they could not take him in. The couple was so impacted by the many dogs up for adoption at the shelter they decided to travel to DeKalb County to adopt one.

"Your heart just reaches out to certain ones, so I think it was just meant to be, to travel here," said Dawn Reeves.

The couple traveled to Atlanta a few days ago to look at the dogs up for adoption at the DeKalb County Animal Shelter. They felt an instant connection with a two-year-old pit bull mix named Mekhi.

"It was the way he interacted with the kids," said Kendall York. "He just made an impression."

The couple picked up Mekhi Wednesday. York said he made the nearly 800-mile journey because back home in Dallas, shelters do not have near the overage that they do in DeKalb County.

"The shelters close to me, you go in you may have five or six, maybe eight pit bulls. You go in here, probably 30 easy just walking through those, the two main lines, so there are more here that need help," said York.

Staffers at the shelter were taken back and said that it is hard enough to get people locally to adopt, let alone a family from nearly 800 miles away.

"There is so much that we see that kind of makes us sad and makes us wonder about people and then you have a guy like this, it restores your faith in people," said Karen Hirsch with Lifeline Animal Project.

The couple said they are excited to bring Mekhi home and make him part of the family.

"There are way too many of these dogs like this, that are great examples of a family dog in shelters like this that need a home, need a chance," said York.

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