A Dog That Was Abandoned For 'Being Gay' Has a New, Loving, & Gay Home

The dog who was cruelly dumped at a North Carolina animal shelter because his owner discovered him humping another male dog has found a new home, and the development might have saved the loving animal's life.

Steven Nichols and John, his partner of over 30 years, learned of the dog's (named Fezco) abandonment at the Stanly County Animal Shelter and decided they had to adopt him.

"We just thought it would make sense for the gay dog to be adopted by a loving gay family," Nichols told WCCB in Charlotte.

Nichols said he and John both knew that had to do something for Fezco.

"We've been subject to that kind of bigotry and ignorance throughout our lives together, and we couldn't always do anything about it," Nichols said. "We looked at each other and said, 'We can do something about this.'"

One of the first things they did after adopting Fezco was to give him the new name of Oscar, in honor of the late gay poet Oscar Wilde.

Nichols also called out the previous owner, saying it was "just a silly reason to turn in a dog" and experts agree, saying that mounting is common among canines and has little to do with sexual activity.

"All dogs do it," Dr. William Pressly of the Pressly Animal Hospital told WCCB. "It's a dominance thing and a play thing."

Dr. Pressly also revealed that Oscar's previous owner was not just an ignorant homophobe, but also a poor owner as well. Oscar was suffering from heartworms, a condition that left untreated will eventually result in death. With the help of the Greater Charlotte SPCA, which is funding Oscar's medical treatments, Dr. Pressly is treating the condition and expects Oscar to be fully healthy in no time.

While Oscar's humping had little to do with same-sex sexual relations among animals, there are plenty of examples of gay animals leading happy and productive lives. Perhaps the most famous example of this would be gay penguin couple Sphen and Magic, Gentoo penguins who celebrated the third anniversary of their partnered relationship last November at the Sea Life Aquarium in Sydney. The devoted pair, collectively known by their couple name "Sphengic" in the gay penguin fandom universe, became parents to little Lara in 2018 after the aquarium gave them an egg to foster. The two gay lovebirds were attentive parents, always having the largest and cleanest nest among the colony. Sphengic replicated their parental success in 2020 when they hatched young Clancy.

Regardless of an animal's perceived sexual preferences, Dr. Pressly reminded readers a pet is a friend for life.

"You just don't throw 'em away," Dr. Pressly said. "When you get an animal, he's there for the lifetime."

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