A four-year-old Golden Retriever and a three-year-old Chihuahua mix who could not be separated just found a home together, and Boston-born actor Chris Evans helped make it happen. The bonded pair, Carly and Greg, had been living side by side at the Animal Rescue League of Boston's Dedham shelter despite an almost 90-pound size difference between them, and Evans spent time with the dogs on camera to help draw attention to their search for a family willing to take both.
The video, part of a segment called a “Dream Date” produced with the pet-focused outlet The Dodo, shows Evans handing out treats to Greg and Carly, though Greg showed little interest in him at first, according to Boston.com. Evans teamed up directly with the Animal Rescue League of Boston for the segment, which spotlighted the two dogs specifically because shelters say bonded pairs are notoriously hard to place. Petfinder listings for the shelter noted that despite their size mismatch, Greg and Carly had been raised together and needed a joint adoption rather than separate homes.
A Sweethearts Sendoff, and a New Name
Evans told interviewers that Greg and Carly were sweethearts and that he hoped someone would give them a forever home, per the Boston.com report on the segment. That wish came true: the pair has since been adopted together, with Carly renamed Callie by her new owners. Their new family now shares photos and videos of the two dogs on the Instagram account @lifewithgregandcallie, according to the same Boston.com account.
The Dedham shelter belongs to the Animal Rescue League of Boston, an organization founded in 1899 by Dorchester social worker Anna Harris Smith. It is Massachusetts' first female-founded animal welfare organization and now assists more than 20,000 animals a year, according to the Animal Rescue League of Boston. The organization, which was originally established to aid working horses and strays, operates without government funding.
Evans' Own History With Shelter Dogs
Evans has his own well-documented history with shelter adoption. He picked up his boxer mix, Dodger, in 2017 while filming a scene inside an animal shelter in Savannah, Georgia, for the drama Gifted, initially believing the animals on set were trained movie extras before realizing they were real shelter dogs in need of homes, as reported by Us Weekly. During the segment, Evans also answered questions about his dogs and his first few months of fatherhood, saying Dodger sleeps outside his daughter's room while she naps and that Dodger is loving and protective of her. Evans, who was named People magazine's Sexiest Man Alive in November 2022, is now the father of a 10-month-old girl. He said he misses his daughter even when she is only napping down the hall.
Evans' collaboration with The Dodo was sponsored by Jinx, a Los Angeles-based dog nutrition brand in which the actor became an active partner, investor, and brand ambassador in 2022 alongside Dodger, according to a PR Newswire release. Evans became an investor in the company after discovering the food for Dodger and later joined its Series A and Series B funding rounds. Born in Boston and raised in Sudbury, Evans married Portuguese actress Alba Baptista on Cape Cod in September 2023, and the couple welcomed their daughter, Alma Grace Baptista Evans, in Massachusetts in October 2025.
Why Bonded Pairs Struggle in Shelters
The attention mattered because bonded pairs like Greg and Carly face steeper odds than single dogs. The ASPCA notes that bonded pet pairs often take longer to adopt because they come with double the care costs, even though they offer built-in companionship that reduces behavioral stress and eases the transition into a new home. That dynamic plays out against a strained national backdrop: an estimated 5.8 million dogs and cats entered U.S. shelters and rescues in 2025, with roughly 4.2 million successfully adopted, according to data collected by Shelter Animals Count and reported by the ASPCA.
National shelter data published this year shows dog euthanasia has climbed roughly 22 percent in recent years, with larger dogs facing the longest waits for adoption, per Pet N Pet. Research published in the journal Animal Welfare found that temporary foster stays can boost a shelter dog's odds of adoption by 14.3 times, while short public outings like Evans' visit can boost those odds by 5.0 times, according to a study in Cambridge University Press. That research helps explain why high-profile visibility campaigns, even ones tied to a celebrity and a pet food sponsor, can carry real weight for animals facing long shelter stays.
Massachusetts Law Shields Dogs Like Greg
Massachusetts also offers legal protection relevant to dogs like Greg, a Chihuahua mix. Under Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 140, Section 157, municipalities across the state are barred from banning or regulating dogs by breed, meaning shelters and local authorities must judge each dog on individual behavior rather than appearance, per the Animal Rescue League of Boston. That statute has come up in other local coverage this year, including Quincy pit bull MBTA case, where the same breed law was cited in a dangerous-dog proceeding.
The Dedham shelter has also featured in other recent Hoodline reporting on Animal Rescue League of Boston operations, including a puppy rescued from a hot car at Legacy Place and an Essex County surrender that flooded local shelters with 163 pets. For Greg and Callie, though, the story ends the way shelters hope every bonded pair's story will: together, in one home, with a family now posting their day-to-day life for anyone following along.
-4.webp?w=160&h=400&fit=crop&crop=edges)
