04 Apr 2026 Percy’s powerful comeback

By Lori Dunn

It’s hard to believe that just over a year ago, Percy was living on the streets of Conway. With no roof over his head and no steady source of food, every day was a question mark, and he was growing thinner.

Percy was picked up by animal control and taken to Conway Animal Services, but suffered from anxiety and did not adjust well to shelter life. Then he received a lifeline. 

Laura Fleming began volunteering with Conway Animal Services in the spring of 2025. She moved to Arkansas from Pennsylvania in 2024 and realized that she had some extra time and wanted to be part of her new community.

“We had just moved here, and I had all this free time to help,” she said. “Percy was one of the first dogs I met when I started volunteering.” 

Percy is a pit mix with some boxer in his DNA. His veterinarian believes he is about 3 or 4 years old, but he still has a lot of “puppy energy,” Fleming said. Sadly, a year ago, Percy was not playful when Fleming came into his life because he was stressed and agitated.

“He was spinning around in his kennel. He had bad skin and diarrhea. He was losing weight, and it was really sad to see,” Fleming said. “He was in a kennel between February and August.” During that six-month period, the shelter staff and volunteers did their best for Percy, but time was limited by the number of animals they had to care for. No one ever applied to adopt him, and life was not very hopeful.

But Fleming could not get Percy out of her mind or her heart. Fleming is a dialysis social worker, and her animals help her relax after work. She decided to take him home for a weekend visit to meet her kids and partner Chris Bierman, and see how he would do outside of the shelter.

“I just wanted to get him out for a little bit,” she said. Percy did really well during the home visit and got along well with the three other dogs in the house. The stray saw how dogs with forever homes were living their best life!

The other dogs are Skeeter, an American foxhound adopted from the shelter; Luna, a pit mix; and Koda, a Dutch shepherd. Koda is the “grumpy old man” of the group, but they all get along pretty well, Fleming said.

In fact, Percy did so well during his home visit that Bierman decided he needed to be in a home environment rather than the shelter. “Chris said, ‘There is no way we are going to send him back.’ So, we fostered him, and he gained weight,” Fleming said. “I just loved him. He is so sweet.” The couple formally adopted Percy in January. 

Percy is now comfortable with his family and fur brothers. He knows that he can count on them, and all the anxiety has faded away. Even though he weighs about 60 pounds, he is still a lap dog. “He was timid at first, but now he is just all over me. He is very attached to me and is snuggly all the time,” Fleming said.

His appetite is also much better. “He eats everything. There does not seem to be a single thing he doesn’t like,” she said. He loves his chew bones, too.

Besides being petted and receiving attention, he loves lying in the sun in their fenced backyard. And Percy also loves day trips. “If I go out to get in the car, he will jump in. He likes to ride,” Fleming said.

She encourages any animal lover to volunteer at their local shelter.

“When we moved down here, we didn’t know anybody. Helping at the shelter made me feel like part of the community,” she said. “It’s hard to see some of the dogs when they come in and are in bad condition. But there are a lot of people doing everything they can to save them.”

And who knows. A person just might meet a new best friend that way. “Percy really brings so much joy to us. He is a sweetheart for sure,” Fleming said.

Percy’s path from living on the streets to living in a loving home is more than a pup could dream of, and he helps them live their best life by giving them unconditional love. And lots of puppy kisses.