After Hurricane Beryl struck, a stray dog appeared in the parking lot of a Hyatt hotel in Texas. The hotel staff and guests had no idea where he came from.
The next day, he returned. Soon, he was visiting the hotel every night.
The Hyatt staff quickly grew fond of him. Everyone had their nickname for the dog, and they made sure to bring him food each night. But it wasn’t just scraps — they went above and beyond, offering him gourmet meals.
“They were all coming back from their restaurants with — I’m not lying to you — gourmet meals, like steak … a whole pork chop and fajitas,” Jodi Leslie, director of community outreach at Three Little Pitties Rescue, told The Dodo.
A Beloved Visitor Becomes a Rescued Dog
One day, a hotel guest noticed the dog hanging around and realized he didn’t belong to anyone. She posted about him on Facebook, which caught the attention of Three Little Pitties Rescue.
When the rescue team learned the dog had been living at the hotel for two months, they knew they had to step in. They managed to trap him and bring him home with one of the staff members.
Since he had been a stray for so long, possibly his entire life, the dog wasn’t completely comfortable with the new environment. After just one night in the shelter staff member’s home, he ran away.
“He was gone three days,” Leslie said. “She couldn’t find him anywhere. He was nowhere to be seen.”
Just as they were beginning to lose hope, they spotted him back at the hotel parking lot — 8 miles away. They were astonished by how he managed to return, but they were relieved to see him again.
Learning to Be a Pet
With the help of professional trappers, they managed to catch him again. This time, Leslie took him in as a foster and named him Hyatt after the place he had been rescued from.
The dog had become such a beloved figure in the parking lot that the hotel staff were sad to see him leave, though they knew it was the best thing for him.
Hyatt was nervous when he first arrived at Leslie’s home.
“I don’t think he ever had a human that loved on him or a couch that he had laid on,” Leslie said.
Over the past two months, Hyatt has been slowly opening up. Leslie’s other dogs have played a huge role in helping him adjust to life as a pet.
“The pack has really been teaching him how to be a dog,” Leslie said. “If all the other dogs went outside, he would follow. And when all the other dogs went inside, he would follow.”
Now, Hyatt is comfortable hopping on the couch and jumping onto Leslie’s bed for some love. He’s still shy, but with each passing day, he’s becoming more confident.
A New Home Is What He Needs
Though Leslie adores fostering Hyatt, Three Little Pitties Rescue is still searching for a permanent home for him. He thrives with his patient parents and in a home with other dogs. Hyatt has been rescued; now, all he needs is a loving family to call his own.