Santa Cruz – What started out as a blogging mother taking naptime snapshots of her son cuddled up to their newly adopted SPCA puppy is now quickly exploding into what can only be described as an international social media sensation.
After adopting their eight-week-old Boxer/Lab/Shepherd mix, now named Theo, from the Santa Cruz SPCA the Shyba family of five fell more and more in love with the little orphan every day. But it soon became apparent that Theo and their youngest child Beau were forming their own unmistakable friendship during their daily naps together. Jessica Shyba is a well-known blogger of “Momma’s Gone City” and began posting her photos of the precious pair on her blog, Instagram and Facebook receiving thousands of likes, comments and pleas for more. It became a daily occurrence where each picture was more adorable than the last.
The response from the public ignited a media blaze and soon the likes of ABC News, Good Morning America, Fox and Friends, Huffington Post, Yahoo, and hundreds of other news sites, websites, blogs and social media portals all over the world were featuring this heartwarming story of a boy and his dog. The world is now enamored by #theoandbeau.
Shyba describes their bond “as the most organic and beautiful friendship I have ever witnessed.” The bond formed rather unexpectedly and continues to grow stronger with every nap. “Each day, Theo meets us at naptime and waits patiently for Beau to fall asleep. By that time, he’s also sleepy, so when I hoist him onto our bed, he stumbles over to Beau and plops right down on top of him. And there they sleep, entwined, for at least two hours,” Shyba blogs.
Theo was part of a litter of 11 who were abandoned without a mother at only five weeks old. The Santa Cruz SPCA, rescued the large group from certain death and placed them into loving foster homes to care for and socialize them until they became of adoptable age. The Shyba’s began looking for a puppy after recently moving to Santa Cruz and found love in Theo, the pudgy little black and brown puppy, at first site and the rest is literally history.
The Shyba’s are humbled by the positive response and want to use the attention in a larger and lasting way. They encourage people who have been touched by the photos and story behind them to consider donating to the Santa Cruz SPCA, the catalyst for the dynamic duo. The Santa Cruz SPCA and Humane Society is currently planning to build a new shelter, one that will allow them a larger and safer space to save the lives of more animals. They are currently operating out of a small and aging house and desperately need $1.5 million to break ground and begin construction on the new facility. The Santa Cruz SPCA is a private non-profit animal rescue that relies solely on donations and receives no government funding.