Updated: 12/29/15, 3:40 p.m.
A 1-year-old dog who was photographed cowering beside his favorite teddy bear after being surrendered to a high intake animal shelter this past fall is getting closer to finding a forever home.
One day after the heartbreaking photo was posted on an animal welfare group's Facebook page, a foster group swooped in to care for the dog named Needy -- possibly saving him from a looming expiration date at the packed shelter.
"He's been there the longest and the whole teddy bear thing just killed us," Erica Brown, founder of Diamonds in the Ruff, told The Huffington Post of their decision to take him in on Tuesday.
Brown's group posted photos on Facebook of the pup getting to know his new handlers while leaving Philadelphia's Animal Care and Control Team.
They also shared that they've changed his name to Fozzie Bear, in memory of their late rescue dog named Kermit -- with Fozzie Bear being Kermit the Frog's best friend.
"He was a little bit scared in the beginning but he started opening up," Brown said. "He sat and gave me both paws. I think he's really going to open up and be really sweet."
Since announcing his rescue, Brown said their group has already received a few emails inquiring about adopting him.
First things first, she said, is getting him neutered and seeing how well he adapts and does with their other dogs.
"It could be a week or two, or a month. You never know," she said of the adoption process. "Whoever has the best home, for his needs and for theirs, will go to them."
Since the rescue group opened in March of 2014, Brown says they've saved at least 289 dogs. They are currently caring for 15 dogs but typically have between 15 and 25.
"There are some dogs we've had for years and some we've had for a day or two," she said.
Jennifer Berwick, assistant director of operations at Animal Care and Control Team of Philadelphia, called the pup's rescue a step in the right direction -- one she hopes to see for the hundreds of other cats and dogs crowding ACCT Philly.
Since its operation started in 2012, ACCT Philly has taken in about 28,000 animals a year with approximately 80 percent of them going on to find a new home, Berwick told HuffPost. That astounding success rate is the largest for any organization in the state of Pennsylvania.
Some animals like Fozzie Bear stay for three months, others for only an hour. As for what determines whether or not they’ll live to see another day outside the shelter's walls, Berwick said it depends on the animals’ “behavior, health and space.”
For some animals, their health declines almost as soon as they step into the shelter.
It can take only a couple hours before "their behavior has changed from the stress of the environment," Berwick said. “It’s a foreign environment. It’s such a shock to their system.”
When Fozzie Bear arrived in November, he was left with his beloved teddy bear and a note from his past owner that blamed his release on his “bite history.”
According to the note, it was while someone was arguing or fighting in the house that the pooch bit someone, Berwick said.
"It wasn't serious," she said of the bite. "They just said that he's a good dog as long as there is no roughhousing or arguing."
He’s otherwise described as sweet-natured and a volunteer favorite, who knows basic commands like sit, high-five and down. He also gets along well with other dogs, Berwick said.
Sadly, his comfort teddy bear seen in the photo was taken away from him shortly after he arrived because it wasn’t one of the “approved toys,” Berwick said.
"We don't normally allow dogs to have things like that here. We can't monitor them like you can at home,” she said, while suggesting that the animals could choke on the buttons or other parts.
Some of the many cats and dogs available for adoption at Philadelphia's ACCT can be seen here on its website: AcctPhilly.org. Donations to help fund its efforts can be made here.
This post has been updated with information about the foster group that took in Fozzie Bear.
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