Smiles of Michigan Man, Rescue Dog Blind the Internet

WATERFORD TOWNSHIP, MI – This. Dog. These. Smiles.

The other day, Detroit Dog Rescue posted a picture on its Facebook page of Waterford Township musician Dan Tillery and his newly adopted dog — Sir Wiggleton, now  Diggy — smiling for the camera.

The internet smiled back.

The post received 24,000 “likes” and was shared thousands of times, leading to a stampede of eager-for-a-happy-story media types who fell all over themselves — including those of us at Patch who are silly over these stories, too — to cover Tillery’s adoption of the adorable pooch.

Diggy, a 2-year-old American bulldog/pit bull mix, had been at the shelter in Harper Woods for about 100 days when Tillery adopted him after seeing a picture of the pooch on Facebook.

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“(My girlfriend and I) have been wanting a dog forever, but the place we were renting would not allow dogs. We just recently purchased our first home. All ours. And dogs are allowed,” Tillery, 30, told The Oakland Press.

He said he instantly fell in love with the dog with a big, wet tongue hanging out and quizzical look on his face.

“I said, ‘If he’s anything like he looks, I’ll take him.’ He is just like this,” Tillery told the newspaper. “He’s a big, fast, loving goofball. Face licker, likes to play. ... He’s the most handsome pup. He’s super happy to be here, and I’m super happy to have him here.”

Tillery said he is flabbergasted by the attention the dog rescue group’s post has garnered.

“I thought it would get some attention, but I didn’t know it would really cheer this many people up,” Tillery told The Detroit News. “It’s pretty extreme.”

Detroit Dog Rescue Executive Director Kristina Rinaldi told The Detroit News that she found the dog in early March when she already had a van full of dogs.

‘He Needed to Get Out’

He was “in a tiny cage just kind of hanging with his head down,” and the tender-hearted Rinaldi said she couldn’t leave him behind.

“He had a sparkle in his eye that he needed to get out. ... I definitely did not want to see him euthanized,” she said.

The happy ending is one that Rinaldi and others with the rescue group “hope for every dog.”

“We’re just so excited,” she told The Detroit News. “People are seeing the positive outcomes of rescuing.”

Tillery encouraged other pet lovers to consider adopting from a local shelter.

“I love dogs,” he told The Oakland Press. “They’re beautiful, loving, smart, caring creatures. They all deserve a chance at happiness.”

Tillery says he’s going to give Diggy plenty of chances to get “used to being free.”

“Anywhere I go I’d love to be around him. Who knows what he’ll get into?” he told The Detroit News.

Tillery, a graduate of Waterford’s Charles F. Kettering High School, just released his album “Dreamers and Drifters.” 

Image credits: Photos courtesy of Detroit Dog Rescue, used with permission