Dog adopted after touching photo goes viral

After spending five years in a shelter, one lucky dog finally has a loving home he deserves thanks to one photo.

Chester the pit bull was found living on the streets five years ago, according to BarkPost, and easily won the hearts of shelter volunteers and staff for his big smile and lovable personality. However, he was always overlooked by those wanting to adopt a new dog and hope for Chester continued to dwindle as time passed.

Gabby Stroup, manager of the North Fork Animal Welfare League, decided to take a new approach to getting older dogs adopted from shelters.

Stroup created a Facebook page, "Chester: Waiting Five Years," sharing photos of Chester in hopes of spreading the word about him. But just one photo did the trick.

Stroup posed Chester looking terribly sad with a cardboard sign, with a caption reading:

"It was crazy. I posted the original photo on the League's Facebook page and by later that day there were over 6000 shares," Stroup told BarkPost. "Someone suggested I make him his own page and I did, at about 3:30 p.m., and that evening there were close to 2000 likes."

Quickly, many families inquired about adopting Chester until Dana Dor and her family met with him and knew they were the perfect fit. Now Chester is enjoying his new life with a loving family.

"It was by far the most amazing thing I have ever seen - the amount of people who shared and called or emailed was amazing. This was one of the happiest days," said Stroup about Chester's adoption.

Since Chester's Facebook page accomplished its mission, the page is now used for updates on other shelter dogs who are still in need of good homes.