Puppy Was Thrown Back Over Hawaii Shelter Wall Only Weeks After Leaving With A New Family

Kenna saved a tiny puppy while playing professional soccer overseas. Months later, a devastating online update forced her to orchestrate a global rescue mission to bring him home to Hawaii.

A Lonely Puppy on the Road

Kenna was far from home, living in Albania and playing professional soccer, when a chance encounter changed her life. While going about her day, she spotted a tiny, helpless puppy abandoned on the side of the road.

She immediately looked around, but there was no sign of his mother or any other siblings nearby.

The little dog was entirely on his own in a dangerous environment. Kenna knew without a doubt that he was in serious trouble if she just walked away.

A Temporary Foster Home

Because she had already been volunteering with a local animal shelter, Kenna knew exactly who to call for help.

The shelter staff asked if she would be willing to take the puppy home and foster him until they could find him a permanent family.

Kenna happily agreed, naming the sweet boy Blue. However, her time with him was strictly limited, as she only had about two weeks left in Albania before she had to leave.

The First Failed Adoption

When it was time for Kenna to leave the country, she tearfully handed Blue over to the shelter where she had volunteered.

Within the next month, the shelter shared some seemingly wonderful news: Blue had been officially adopted.

Unfortunately, the happy update was short-lived. When the shelter conducted a routine home check, they found the young dog chained up to a little dog house and left entirely alone.

Refusing to let him live in those conditions, the shelter immediately took him back.

A Shattering Social Media Post

Blue was eventually adopted out a second time, giving everyone hope that he had finally found his forever family.

But just a few weeks later, Kenna was scrolling online when she saw a post from the Albanian shelter that made her heart drop.

The post described a dog that had been mercilessly thrown over a wall in a cruel attempt to return him to the rescue.

When Kenna realized the dog in the post was Blue, she was devastated. “My heart just absolutely shattered,” she recalled.

A Desperate Rescue Plan

Seeing the puppy she had saved endure so much rejection and cruelty was more than Kenna could bear.

She immediately contacted the shelter with a bold and determined plan.

“Let’s do anything we can to get him all the way to me in Hawaii,” she told them.

It was going to be a massive logistical challenge, but she was entirely committed to giving Blue the life he deserved.

A Four-Month Global Journey

Getting a dog from Eastern Europe to the middle of the Pacific Ocean required an incredible amount of coordination.

Blue’s journey began with a trip from Albania to Kosovo. From there, he flew across the Atlantic to Atlanta, Georgia, where he stayed with Kenna’s friends for two weeks.

Next, he traveled to Portland, Oregon. He had to stay there for an entire month until his quarantine paperwork was fully cleared for Hawaii.

In total, it took four months of waiting, planning, and traveling to get everything perfectly in place.

Safe at Last in Hawaii

After months of uncertainty and thousands of miles of travel, Blue finally arrived in Hawaii to reunite with Kenna.

Despite everything he had been through—the abandonment, the chaining, and the long flights—his spirit remained completely unbroken.

“When he came, he was like the sweetest thing ever,” Kenna shared.

She described her long-distance rescue pup as a “perfect little angel baby” who was just happy to finally be home.

Meant to Be from the Start

Blue settled into his new island life beautifully, leaving his difficult past far behind him.

He adapted to his new surroundings with ease, finally realizing that he was safe and would never be abandoned again.

For Kenna, the incredible effort to bring him across the globe was worth every single second.

“Our story is definitely very unique and very special to me,” she said. “It just kind of feels like everything was meant to be, and it feels like he was ours from the very beginning.”