This story was originally shared on The Animal Rescue Site. Submit your own rescue story here. Your story just might be the next to be featured on our blog!

Enter to win and we'll feed a shelter pet!

The Animal Rescue Site has partnered with 5 incredible brands to offer one HUGE prize!

I had been forced to transfer from my choice uni three hours from home to one closer due to last-minute financial troubles. I got to know one of my new professors very well, and she confided in me that she had found a little black dog running around on her way to campus one day.

She had put up fliers and checked ads and shelters for any signs of the dog's owner but had found none. She already had a small menagerie and wasn't sure if she could keep him.

I managed to talk my mother and stepfather into adopting him (for my sister, originally). I was finishing at work when my sister and stepfather came to pick me up. We walked out to the car and there was the furriest little thing waiting there in my sister's lap. My professor had been calling him Buddy, which was cute but not well suited to him, in my opinion. After one evening of watching and learning about him, I named him Gatsby. His vet estimated him to be 9 years old.

My younger sister was glad to have a dog but not financially/emotionally ready to care for one, so I ended up officially adopting him a month after he came home with us. I moved back to my original uni after one year and took Gatsby with me.

We've been through a lot. He has epilepsy, very bad teeth/gums, and separation anxiety. But he's my little gentleman through and through. I'm currently in Japan doing my study abroad and I can't wait until I can see him again. My boyfriend sends me pictures and video updates.

I plan to move to Japan soon, and of course, Gatsby will be coming with me for even more adventures.