Pet adoption puts smiles on everyone's faces - the new animal owner, most people who see them, and sometimes the pet itself. In fact, a photo of Waterford, Michigan's Dan Tillery and his newly adopted best friend Diggywent viral because the pup seems to be grinning as big as Dan. And even though it brought smiles to the thousands of people who liked the pic, clearly not everyone was amused because some went to the police.
The folks who just couldn't mind their own business felt Diggy was a pit bull terrier, which is against Dan's area's dangerous dog ordinance. So after being picked up off the streets of Detroit and spending 100 days at the Detroit Dog Rescue, Diggy, who the shelter had called Sir Wiggleton, had one more challenge facing him.
Dan and his girlfriend had just bought a house after renting a place for years and not being able to have a dog in their unit. Thrilled to finally have a pup in their new home, they were shocked when police showed up at their door because of Diggy.
However, Diggy knew just how to deal with the cops. When they arrived, he was kind to them, licking their faces. The police said he looks like a good boy and though Dan showed them his dog's adoption papers, which listed Diggy as an American bulldog, the cops weren't buying it. They wrote a ticket and gave Dan three days to relocate Diggy or face a $500 fine and possible jail time, but his community wasn't having it.
10,000 people signed an online petition to let Diggy stay with Dan and Tillery backed it up with paperwork from his vet, the City of Detroit Animal Control and Welfare and the shelter stating that the pet was an American bulldog. After months, the case went to court and the judge threw it out. Dan wrote on Facebook, "We get to keep our boy. He's a good boy."
Photo Credit: Getty, Dan Tillery