Shelter dog with one ear tears the same ear off his favorite toy: ‘a best friend just like him’

Some dogs have disabilities that make them look a little different, but they’re still worthy of love. They just want to feel normal and accepted like anybody else.

Like one dog who is missing an ear — and recently did something precious that has been warming hearts everywhere.

Bruno is in the care of the SPCA of Wake County in Raleigh, North Carolina. Bruno is a beautiful dog, but has one difference: he is missing an ear, the result of an attack by another dog.

“Bruno used to live chained up outside, and his ear was torn off when another dog attacked him and he couldn’t run away,” the SPCA explained on Facebook.

But Bruno doesn’t let his injury get him down — and this month, he did something unbelievably adorable.

Bruno tore the ear off his favorite stuffed toy — the same ear that he is missing. It was as if he ripped the toy to look just like him.

“Bruno knows there’s nothing wrong with him, and now he has a best friend just like him to prove it,” the shelter wrote. “You’re perfect just the way you are, Bruno.”

Many dogs rip up their toys, but the coincidence is hard to deny. Even with the toy’s ear ripped off, Bruno seems to love it even more.

Representation matters, and children with differences and disabilities have benefited from seeing themselves represented in their toys. Dogs, apparently, are no different.

Bruno loves himself the way he is, but it can sometimes be hard for differently-abled shelter dogs to find homes. They often get passed over by potential adopters due to the way they look.

Thankfully, that wasn’t the case for sweet Bruno. A few days after he went viral, the shelter announced that Bruno had been adopted!

“Bruno’s adopter loves him just the way he is and promised to show Bruno nothing but unconditional love for the rest of his life,” SPCA of Wake County wrote.