Cheech was picked up on the streets of Texas at the age of two and sent to a large local shelter. The City of Waller Animal Shelter and Rescue then rescued him. Staff felt he was terrified or anxious in his new habitat since he was so little, but Cheech quickly proved them incorrect.

Cheech was in his kennel shortly after arriving at the shelter and began making the sweetest, strangest expression. Some staff and volunteers assumed he was unhappy rather than just being funny…

… but Cheech quickly responded with the prettiest, cheekiest smile, and everyone fell in love with the vivacious little dog.

“I walked inside the kennel to look at him and shouted for the other volunteers to come look,” said Leah Sipe, director of the City of Waller Animal Shelter and Rescue. “They thought I was insane, and he was snarling; I thought they’d pass out when I placed my hand in the cage.” “He’s as pleasant as they come!”

Sipe wanted to share Cheech’s wonderful smile with the rest of the world, so he shared a photo of him smiling on the shelter’s Facebook page — and the internet fell in love with him very quickly. The post attracted over 7,000 shares, and the joyful dog quickly received over 50 adoption applications.

The shelter was thrilled that so many individuals wanted to take in tiny Cheech…

… and, of course, Cheech.

The staff found the right candidate after filtering through the insane amount of applications Cheech received. An applicant had recently lost one of her dogs to cancer, and her other dog, Dusty, was in distress. He needed a new companion to help him get through this bad patch…

… and it was evident after meeting Cheech that the two would be great for each other. Everyone who knows Cheech is overjoyed that he’s found the perfect family.

The City of Waller Animal Shelter and Rescue is brand new and is currently being built and rebuilt from an old jail. The shelter officially opens on November 12th, and owing to Cheech and his appealing smile, the pups at the shelter will certainly have a lengthy line of potential adopters when it does.