The matted, dirty dog rescued from a gas station Dumpster on Long Island last Christmas Eve has found a new home.
Animal-welfare officials say the dog, named Miracle by her rescuers, has been adopted by a North Babylon woman and her mother.
The staff at Islip Animal Shelter, along with the Suffolk SPCA and Islip Town Councilman Anthony Senft Jr., considered dozens of applications and met with four potential adoptive owners before selecting Hazel Wagner.
Senft said Wagner and her mother were ideal applicants because they lived in a quiet and calm home, "the perfect energy level for Miracle."
Wagner and her mother, both self-proclaimed animal lovers, lost their Labrador retriever a few years ago and weren't sure they were ready to welcome a new pooch. But after media reports of Miracle, "they had no question in their minds that Miracle belonged in their homes," Senft said.
Wagner said, "I just can't wait to get her home and start spoiling her."
Miracle is being sent home with her new owners on her fourth birthday.
Senft said while there were plenty of applications to adopt Miracle, there are still more than 60 other dogs at the Islip Animal Shelter "waiting for their forever homes."
An Islip Town animal shelter employee was arrested on animal-cruelty charges for allegedly abandoning Miracle.
