Former 'Bachelor' Colton Underwood adopts the dog he was fostering: 'She won me over'
"I’m officially a foster fail. Welcome Zooka to the family!" he wrote online.
Colton Underwood is welcoming a new furry friend into his family after losing his puppy Sniper in February.
The former "Bachelor" star recently announced he adopted Zooka, a rescue dog he was fostering from the Labelle Foundation, an animal rescue in Los Angeles.
"It’s official. You can call me a lot of things, but please add 'foster fail' to your list," Underwood wrote in an Instagram post showing off Zooka, a German shepherd-husky mix. "I’ve officially adopted Zooka."
"This classy, charming and beautiful girl has a heart bigger than her paws (and those things are huge!) and she won me over," he continued.
Underwood shared a post earlier this month introducing Zooka to his fans and explaining her name.
"Long story short I thought I was getting a boy puppy, turns out that he is a she therefore, Bazooka became just Zooka," he wrote. "If I’m being honest I thought I was just fostering her for 2 weeks, but I think I’m already in love."
Laura Labelle, co-founder of the Labelle Foundation, told "Good Morning America" that her organization has seen an increase in foster and adoption applications during the COVID-19 crisis.
The foundation usually gets two to three foster applications a month, but received over 2,000 foster applications in the first two weeks of the pandemic, Labelle shared. The organization receives up to 10 applications when they post a dog for adoption, but are now seeing up to 100 applications per dog during the pandemic.
"So many people are home and have extra time they wouldn't normally have ... I think everyone's feeling really isolated and lonely, so they've been seeking more than ever the companionship of man's best friends," she said.
Labelle encourages people to keep in mind the responsibility attached to bringing home a dog. "Ownership or guardianship of dogs, whether it's a pandemic or not, is a huge commitment," she said. "And it's a beautiful thing that people have been so helpful during this time. It's my greatest hope that this is going to bring awareness when we're not in a pandemic situation."
Underwood thanked the nonprofit rescue organization in his post announcing Zooka's adoption and said his late pup Sniper, "would be proud ... and in love."
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