Jake Woodruff, a musician and artist who appeared on Netflix’s “Love on the Spectrum,” wasn’t planning to adopt a dog when he attended a BOBS® from Skechers® adoption event with the Lovejoy Foundation
in 2024. Then he met Pablo.
“He had such a calm, gentle energy, and something about him just felt right,” Woodruff told The Dodo.
The connection was immediate, and 19 months later, the pair are inseparable. For Woodruff, who is autistic, Pablo’s presence has helped ease anxiety, encourage social interaction and bring more balance to everyday life.
“Growing up, I sometimes felt like I had to repress parts of my personality to fit in, but Pablo’s playful nature has helped me loosen up and be more present,” Woodruff said. “Emotionally, I feel like my baseline happiness has improved, and I have fewer days where I experience strong anxiety.”
For Woodruff, Pablo is more than a pet. He is a loyal companion who has helped bring confidence, comfort and joy into everyday life.
And he's not alone.
Across the country, rescue pets are changing lives in ways their adopters never imagined.
For more than a decade, BOBS® from Skechers® has been helping make those life-changing connections possible by supporting animal welfare organizations around the world. This year, the brand reached a major milestone: more than $14 million donated to animal welfare organizations, helping to support and save over 2 million shelter dogs and cats.
To celebrate this achievement, BOBS® from Skechers® is shining a light on the stories behind those numbers. One of those stories belongs to Shannan Ajluni and her dog Pixie.
When Ajluni first went into Best Friends Animal Society looking for a dog to train as her next service animal, she wasn’t sure she’d find the right match. Then she met Pixie.
“When Pixie walked through the door, it was instant love at first sight on both our parts,” Ajluni told The Dodo.
Known around the Best Friends Pet Adoption Center in Los Angeles for her infectious smile and outgoing personality, Pixie quickly proved she was something special. After passing basic, intermediate and advanced obedience training, along with her Canine Good Citizen and Public Access tests, the former shelter dog began a new chapter as Ajluni’s service dog.
Today, Pixie helps Ajluni navigate life with Stage 4 cancer.
“From day one, Pixie fit right in at home,” Ajluni said. “She gets along with our other two service dogs, sometimes leading the pack. On days we can only hang out on the couch, her cuddles remind me that I am not my disease and that I am human.”
For Ajluni, Pixie is more than a service dog. She is a source of joy during life’s most difficult moments.
But it's not just pups like Pablo and Pixie who've left a lasting impact on their people, rescue cats are also changing lives.
For Samantha Bell, Best Friends Animal Society's cat expert, two rescue cats helped her discover her purpose.
Years ago, Bell was working a corporate desk job and volunteering in a kitten nursery, helping care for vulnerable newborn kittens. One of those kittens was Yohan, a tiny orange cat fighting for his life.
"I started volunteering almost every day to make sure I could feed him and see how he was doing," Bell told BOBS® from Skechers®.
What began as concern for one kitten soon became something much bigger.
"While I was there, I realized it wasn't just Yohan I was falling in love with — it was animal rescue," Bell said. "Yohan and [my other cat] Desmond are the reason I work in animal welfare. They are the reason I've been able to help thousands of cats feel happy and find homes."
Today, Bell spends her career helping pets find loving families, all thanks to two shelter cats who changed the course of her life.
For others, rescue pets inspire creativity.
That's exactly what happened to this year's BOBS® from Skechers® Paws for a Cause Design Scholarship winners, Elle Dalby of Penn State and Anelya Sapar of the School of Visual Arts. Both students transformed their personal experiences with rescue animals into original sneaker designs that will be featured on limited-edition BOBS B Cute 2.0 footwear.
For Sapar, the inspiration came from her family's rescue cat, Basik, and the time she spent volunteering at a local animal shelter in Kazakhstan. Dalby's design was inspired by the rescue dogs who have shaped her family's life over the years: Heinz, Cash, Winston and Jack.
To celebrate those connections, BOBS® from Skechers® awarded both students $10,000 scholarships through the Skechers Foundation, and their winning designs will soon be available on special-edition footwear inspired by the rescue animals who changed their lives.
These stories are exactly why Best Friends Animal Society and BOBS® from Skechers® have joined forces to help more pets find loving homes. Throughout 2026, BOBS® from Skechers® is supporting Best Friends Animal Society through a $500,000 commitment and a series of adoption events across the country.
Whether it's a service dog helping someone through illness, a loyal companion easing anxiety, a shelter cat inspiring a lifelong career in animal welfare, or beloved rescue pets influencing the next generation of artists and advocates, these pets prove that adoption is about much more than finding homes.
