Senior dog Cruiser adopted after months in Muskegon shelter

MUSKEGON, MI – A senior dog who has been waiting months to be adopted has finally found his forever home.

Cruiser, an 8-year-old American Bulldog mix, has been at the Big Lake Humane Society in Muskegon since May, after his owner died. The dog spent the first five years of his life at the shelter before being adopted for the first time in 2020. Four years later, he was back and struggling to find a new home.

Shelter Manager Velvet Lyght said Cruiser was a "tough sell" this time around because he must be the only animal in the home, with no small children and a yard.

A Saginaw family checking all those boxes made the trip this past weekend to adopt Cruiser.

"He's full of life," said Norm Davis, who adopted Cruiser on Saturday along with his wife, Kirsten Davis and two teenage sons, Keegan and Kalon.

By Tuesday, the family had already gone on several walks and runs with Cruiser, given him a bath and were starting to learn more of his personality.

"He's definitely a snuggler, which I'm not used to," Norm Davis said, laughing. The husband and wife said they are considering sizing up to a king-size bed, to accommodate for Cruiser.

The Davises said Cruiser is "extremely well-behaved" and knows a variety of tricks and commands that the family is still discovering as the days go on.

"It's always a guessing game with what command he might know," Norm said, adding that Cruiser's ears will perk up at certain words.

"Recently, we found out he knows the command 'speak' - that's been a blast for us and the kids," Norm said. "We're just discovering new things about him every day. He's fitting in great; we couldn't ask for a better situation."

Cruiser first came to Big Lake Humane Society in 2016 as a puppy from Detroit Animal Care and Control.

By 2020, he was the shelter's longest resident, despite his graduation from a variety of training programs, his active, "smart and motivated" personality and staff efforts to advertise his adoptability to the public.

But, in June 2020, a man named John showed up for a clearing out the shelters event during the COVID-19 pandemic, and Cruiser was finally adopted.

This past May, John died and his family was not able to accommodate Cruiser in their homes, since they all have dogs. Cruiser does not do well with other dogs in the home.

On top of that, the shelter requested that Cruiser's next family also not have small children and have a yard.

Lyght said those restrictions, as well as societal stereotypes around "a big, old, dark, Bully breed" made it that much harder to get him adopted, on top of just not enough people adopting right now.

Cruiser is about 60 pounds and, in a picture, may look more "intimidating" to some, especially if placed next to a small puppy on an adoption website, Lyght said.

But the Davises said Cruiser was exactly what they were picturing.

A month ago, the family lost their Pitbull-boxer mix they had for 17 years.

"People say they're mean, they're nasty dogs," Norm said, of Pitbull breeds. "Come to find out, it's one of the most lovable dogs you can ever have... He's a gentle giant, this guy Cruiser."

The parents say Cruiser is "having a blast" with their 14- and 17-year-old sons, adding that the dog has "taken a real shining" to one of the boys' old soccer balls.

The Davises encouraged others to adopt dogs from local animal shelters because they are "just as good ... sometimes better" than dogs from a breeder.

"If nothing else comes of this story then, maybe five or six other people, instead of going and getting a purebred maybe they consider going and adopting a dog that needs you because, I guarantee, you won't be disappointed," Norm said.

Find here a list of adoptable dogs and cats at the Muskegon-area shelter.

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