Kayla Filoon works as a volunteer at ACCT Philly, a Philadelphia-based animal shelter. She’s been walking the dogs for a year. Kayla enjoys her volunteer job and bonds with all of her shelter dogs, but one stray in particular has a special place in her heart.

Russ is a stray that arrived at ACCT Philly in appalling condition. The poor dog was severely underweight, had missing hair patches, and was severely battered. In addition, Russ was suffering from kennel cough. As he sat in his kennel, glaring at Kayla, the 4-year-old Pit Bull had a terrible appearance.

She decided to go for a stroll with the unfortunate-looking dog and was astonished to find that Russ was actually fairly well-behaved. He didn’t react or bark like other dogs, and he also showed a really loving side. Russ also showed that he had a rudimentary command understanding. Kayla made the decision to adopt him the next day right then and there.

Kayla felt she had to act quickly since the shelter was experiencing space challenges due to congestion, putting Russ at risk of being killed. So she eagerly filled up the papers and brought Russ home with her the next day.