A Chihuahua named Bubba was found wandering a North Side San Antonio neighborhood just before Halloween by Ms. G, who brought him to her apartment. San Antonio Animal Care Services officers later picked him up so he could be at the shelter. He had a microchip, a giant stuffed sloth he wouldn't let go of, and, it turned out, a woman named Ms. G who couldn't stop thinking about him.
A Microchip, a Vet Visit, and a Dead End
Ms. G brought Bubba home to her apartment and immediately began searching for his family, according to KENS 5. She took him to a veterinarian for a microchip check, hoping the chip would lead straight to his owner, and posted about him on social media and neighborhood forums in an effort to track down whoever he belonged to. She needed help finding that owner, and the search apparently came up short.
There was a complication closer to home, too: Bubba's apartment complex did not allow pets, the outlet reports. Rather than give up on him, Ms. G went looking for a new place to live — one where a Chihuahua with a serious attachment to an oversized stuffed sloth would actually be welcome.
The Sloth That Wouldn't Be Left Behind
Bubba had found comfort in that giant stuffed sloth from the start, taking a liking to Ms. G's oversized plush companion in a way that stuck. ACS officers picked him up so he could be at the shelter, and Ms. G made sure the sloth went with him. After finding a new place to live, she submitted an adoption application for him. Because Bubba was technically still available for reclaim by his previous owner while the process played out, the stuffed animal functioned as a bit of emotional continuity for the dog during the wait.
That continuity nearly hit a snag close to adoption day: Bubba's stuffed sloth briefly went missing, according to the same account, before shelter staff ran it through the laundry, washed and dried it, and reunited it with Bubba at the shelter. Dog and sloth were back together at the shelter.
A Shelter System Under Pressure
Bubba's case landed at a shelter system that has been stretched thin. In July, San Antonio's Animal Care Services said it was over capacity, with more than 550 animals filling every available kennel, as KSAT reported at the time. The agency attributed the crowding to the annual summer rise in stray animals, flood-related rescue calls following storms, and recent animal-cruelty investigations, and it waived adoption fees through that Sunday while offering free spay or neuter, vaccination, and microchipping for pets adopted during the push. A City of San Antonio summary from May had pointed to improved live-outcome numbers for animals in ACS care, including a higher overall placement rate and a decline in roaming-dog indicators, though that assessment predates the summer's reported crunch.
Stories like Bubba's are part of why shelter officials keep pushing adopters to look past a dog's paperwork and consider the whole package — stuffed sloth and all. Separately, a Petfinder listing for Bubba describes him as currently available for adoption, though it's unclear when that snippet was recorded or whether it reflects his status before or after Ms. G's application went through.
By the account given to KENS 5, Ms. G ultimately took home both Bubba and his stuffed sloth. The pairing had become inseparable enough, between the vet visits, the housing hunt, and the laundry-room detour, that leaving one behind was never really on the table.
