Ethan the Rescue Dog Cheered on by Shelter Workers as He Leaves for His Forever Home

Ethan reached the final step in his recovery journey at the Kentucky Humane Society (KHS) on March 10.

In late January, a family found the emaciated rescue dog abandoned in the shelter’s parking lot, too weak to lift his head. Since this discovery, Ethan has been under the care of KHS, where he has gone from a bone-thin 32 pounds to a healthy weight of 83 pounds.

Between the staff’s hard work and Ethan’s fighting spirit, the pooch quickly recovered from the neglect he experienced earlier in his life. Now, Ethan is a sweet, social pup who has plenty to wag his tail about.

A week ago, KHS announced on Facebook that their facilities director Jeff Callaway — who helped care for Ethan during the dog’s extended stay at the shelter — and his family planned to adopt Ethan.

Wednesday, that plan went into action when Callaway and his family arrived at KHS to take Ethan home. After affecting KHS’s entire staff and thousands of animal lovers worldwide, Ethan didn’t get a simple send-off.

RELATED: Ethan the Rescue Dog Adopted After Weeks of Recovery: He’s ‘Already a Huge Part of Our Family’

Kentucky Humane Society/ Instagram

KHS threw a special adoption bash for the pup, which they shared on Facebook Live for everyone to enjoy. During the celebration, Ethan was treated to a new dog bed, treats, and plenty of pats. And before driving off to his new home, the dog walked through a towering balloon arch with the KHS staff on the other side cheering him on.

After the party came to an end, KHS posted a video to Facebook of Ethan riding off with the Callaways to his new life in a forever home — complete with numerous animal friends — and thanked everyone who played a part in Ethan’s happy ending.

“Here is Ethan, Jeff, and his family driving off and waving goodbye to everyone at the Kentucky Humane Society! Today was such a beautiful and emotional day for our staff. We can’t get over how the community has rallied behind our baby Ethan and are so grateful for the overwhelming support that will help so many other shelter animals in our care. Thank you for loving Ethan as much as we do,” KHS wrote.