Woman Shows Why She Gave 'Aggressive' Kill-List Dog a Second Chance at Life

When the year-old Sirius was deemed dangerous and aggressive, he was placed on a kill list at a California shelter. But after a nearby dog lover heard about the animal, she was determined to show the world just how loving he truly is.

Having rescued numerous dogs in the past, Brookelynn Goodlin knows how easily they can be misunderstood. When she heard about Sirius, who was going to be euthanized due to "behavioral issues, specifically being a resource guarder," she made a last-minute attempt to save his life.

Once she met Sirius herself, Goodlin knew there was no reason for him to be on that list, telling Newsweek that "he's just a big, sweet baby." As he's a cross between several large breeds, including an American bulldog, bullmastiff and a boerboel, Goodlin doesn't believe his nature was even taken into consideration before adding him to the kill list, as he was simply judged by his appearance instead.

Goodlin, from the Pacific Northwest, believes that many black dogs are wrongly thought of as dangerous or scary, so people make misconceptions about them before even giving them a chance.

She said: "After talking to a shelter networker, we learned he didn't have any aggression issues, it was just his looks that put him on that list. He's never been aggressive to people, dogs or strangers, and he doesn't resource-guard either.

"When he first came to us, he was scared of everyone and everything, but there was no aggression. He needed a lot of time to decompress and get to know us, but we knew right off the bat that he was the sweetest soul."

Many shelters across the country are working beyond their capacity, and unfortunately, they can't care for every animal that comes through their doors. While overcrowding is the main reason for euthanizing dogs, a 2021 journal review found that shelters also factor in a dog's skull type, size, age group, and likelihood of being adopted, when considering euthanasia.

According to figures from the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), around 920,000 shelter animals are euthanized each year, of which, 390,000 are dogs. While this number is extraordinarily high, the ASPCA highlights a significant drop from years prior, due to a rise in adoptions and animals being returned to original owners.

Since rescuing Sirius in September, Goodlin has shared many videos of his new life on social media, along with her many other pups (@thegoodhype). On December 5, she shared a clip showing Sirius looking nervous in a cage, before showing him cuddled up on the sofa with his new owner after getting adopted.

Reaction to the video has been positive, as it's already been viewed more than 428,700 times and received over 90,100 likes already. Goodlin said that "it's easier to show people how sweet" he is online, and she hopes to show the value of rescuing a dog in need of love.

She continued: "Sometimes in public he gets negative stares, but I think it's just people misunderstanding and stereotyping him because of how big and scary he looks. He's a sweetie pie, and once people realize there's nothing scary about him, they love him."

With hundreds of comments on the viral TikTok post already, many people have praised Goodlin for taking a chance on Sirius, while others shared their own similar experiences.

One comment reads: "He's stunning, thanks for trusting him."

Another person responded: "I have a scary looking black dog and she's literally the sweetest, most friendly dog I own."

"The aggressive ones are the most misunderstood," wrote another TikTok user.

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