Kane, the pit bull who spent over 1,000 days in a shelter, gets his happy ending

WHITESTOWN, Ind. (WISH) — Kane, the adventurous pit bull who spent over 1,000 days in a Boone County shelter, headed off to his forever home on Friday.

Kane, a 3- or 4-year-old American Pit Bull Terrier mix, has had a long history with the Humane Society for Boone County.

Volunteers who have worked with Kane say he was picked up as a stray in September 2020. He stayed with a family for a short time, but was returned. Kane has been at the humane society ever since.

Over the summer, Kane crossed the 1,000-day, or just over three years, mark at the shelter.

But after a total of 1,129 days, Kane’s happy ending was signed, sealed, and delivered by shelter volunteer Betsy Smith and her husband Jeremy McFadden.

Smith says she’s been volunteering at the shelter for two years. Soon after she started, McFadden began volunteering, as well. Betsy told News 8 that Kane has been at the shelter as long as they have been there.

Other volunteers say the connection between Kane and Smith was “instant.” But even though the connection ran deep between Kane, Smith, and McFadden, they hesitated to adopt him, and said many pieces needed to connect in order to safely bring Kane home.

“You can only ignore the voice (telling you to do it) for so long. We (were) going to figure this out,” Smith said.

Smith and McFadden shared with News 8 the steps they have taken to welcome Kane, including working with their other dogs and “building Kane his own space in the garage while he adjusts.”

“We thought about this for a long time,” McFadden said. “I think this will be good for us, and especially good for (Kane).”

To celebrate Kane’s grand exit, volunteers threw a going-away party, complete with gifts, new toys for Kane, and dog-friendly donuts, gummies, and cake.

Many guests in attendance were volunteers who worked with Kane during his years at the shelter. When Kane joined the party, the volunteers greeted him lovingly.

As Kane prepared to head off to his new home, Susan Austin, the executive director of the humane society, says, “Kane has always left out the back door. Today, he’s leaving through the front door.”

Volunteers say that with his adoption, Kane now has a full name: Kane Atlas McFadden.

“This is a good day,” McFadden said. “This is a good day.”

To learn more about the shelter, visit their website here.

(WISH Photo) (WISH Photo) (WISH Photo) A dog-friendly cake for Kane. (WISH Photo) Kane and Betsy(WISH Photo) Kane has left the building.(WISH Photo)