Gay Couple Adopts Dog Abandoned for 'Being Gay'

Update 3/23/22: Fezco has a new home and a new name. A gay North Carolina couple, Steve Nichols and John Winn, adopted the dog and renamed him Oscar after the queer Irish poet and playwright Oscar Wilde.

In an interview with The Charlotte Observer, Nichols told the outlet that they felt an instant connection to the animal. They added that not only were the previous owners homophobic, but they also appear not to have taken care of Oscar. He hasn't been neutered and he has heartworms.

"It was one of the stupidest things I've ever heard," Nichols said, referring to the dog's previous owners. "That's just pack behavior."

"What is almost as concerning as the idea that he's gay, and that the person gave him up for that reason, is the fact that the owner apparently didn't do anything to take care of this dog," Nichols added. "It was pretty apparent to me that he has not seen a good meal or a groomer in his life either."

He told the paper the shelter workers were the "real heroes" for helping Oscar.

"This was just a one-time thing for us, but they do this stuff every day and deal with it all the time," Nichols said. "They don't get the attention they deserve for what they're doing."

Not only does Oscar get a new, supportive home, but he also gets a new dog brother in Nichols' Terrier-Chihuahua mix named Harry.

Oscar will have to stay with a vet for a bit to recover, and Nichols and Winn are ready to bring him home when he can safely go.

"I know it's silly to think that a dog is gay, but if he wants to be gay as hell, he can be gay here," Nichols said. "We'll still love him and take care of him."

The previous story continues below:

A dog shelter in North Carolina is looking to rehome a dog after the owners dumped him because he was "gay."

The Stanly County Animal Shelter wrote in a Facebook post that the dog's owners had surrendered after the dog humped another male dog, according to Charlotte, N.C., TV station WCCB.

The dog, Fezco, is about four or five years old, the shelter wrote. He gets along with people and other animals. The shelter's staff is looking for a foster home for Fezco before he is adopted.

While Fezco's previous owners didn't approve, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals' website states that this behavior is pretty normal.

"Mounting, thrusting (humping) and masturbation are normal behaviors exhibited by most dogs ... They mount and thrust against other animals, people, and objects, such as wadded-up blankets, dog beds, and toys. Sometimes, dogs just rub against people or objects (without mounting them), or they lick themselves," the website reads.

On Twitter, many came forward in support of Fezco.

"NC pals: Please adopt this very cute, and apparently very gay, dog," wrote web designer and author Joshua Mauldin.

"BRB going to Charlotte to adopt this big gay dog," posted author Grant Ginder.

As BuzzFeed notes, even Cardi B got in on the conversation.

Same-sex behavior has been observed in about 1,500 species and is probably present in all social vertebrates. Research has found that interactions among animals of the same sex can help create bonds and produce hierarchies, which could aid in hunting.

Patricia Brennan, a biologist at Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts, told Agence France-Presse earlier this year that nonhuman sexuality is often understudied.

"These are things that are critically important for us to understand evolutionarily. They may actually have something to teach us about our own sexuality," she told the news agency.