Buddhist Monk Adopts Three-Legged Dog Hopper After Walk for Peace

Hopper arrived at Guilford County Animal Services injured, his leg gone after an amputation that saved his life, and spent the next 121 days in a kennel at 980 Guilford College Road in Greensboro. Then a Buddhist monk named Monk John walked through.

Monk John was among the participants in the Walk for Peace, a 2,300-mile pilgrimage that carried Buddhist monks from Fort Worth, Texas, to Washington, D.C. The group passed through Greensboro in January 2026, drawing hundreds of residents to stops at Chua Quan Am Temple on Glendale Drive and the Thousand Buddha Temple on Wolfetrail Road. Mayor Marikay Abuzuaiter proclaimed January 19 as Walk for Peace Day and welcomed the monks at Grandover Resort. It was during that stretch that Monk John connected with Hopper.

Guilford County Animal Services announced the adoption on April 2. In a Facebook post that circulated widely, the shelter captured what 121 days of waiting had cost the dog and what the adoption meant: "Despite everything he'd been through, Hopper never lost his gentle spirit... he just needed someone to give him a chance." Staff who had worked with Hopper during his months at the shelter described him in equally direct terms. "He ran in the play yard like he was on 'all 4 legs,'" one shelter worker wrote. "He's super sweet. Gentle. Loves treats." He now lives with Monk John on wide-open land.

The adoption lands against a harder backdrop. Intake at GCAS, the only public open-admission shelter in Guilford County, hit 8,355 animals last year, up 51 percent from 5,526 in 2022. The shelter reached maximum capacity in 2024, with owner-surrender wait times stretching two to three hours on peak days. Animals like Hopper, whose medical histories and special needs make them harder to place quickly, occupy kennels longest and draw on the county budget with every additional day of care.

Each adoption directly relieves that pressure. Every dog and cat leaving GCAS comes with age-appropriate vaccines, a rabies vaccination, microchip, spay or neuter surgery, a full wellness exam, and monthly flea and tick treatment built into the adoption fee. The shelter is open for walk-in adoptions noon to 4 p.m. daily except Tuesdays, no appointment required, on a first-come, first-served basis. Owner surrenders now require an appointment to ensure the shelter has space; stray drop-offs and donation deliveries do not.

For residents not ready to adopt permanently, the shelter's foster program remains one of the most direct ways to address the capacity problem. Fostering even one dog or cat for a few days frees a kennel for the next animal coming off the street. Volunteer opportunities are listed through the county's website at guilfordcountync.gov/animal-services, and the shelter accepts donated supplies at the front desk without advance notice.

Hopper's 121-day wait ended with a monk and an open field. The animals still kenneled at 980 Guilford College Road are waiting on a similarly unlikely combination: the right person, at the right moment, choosing to show up.