With his movie-star smile and effortless charm, this handsome shelter pup seemed destined to win hearts right away. But weeks passed at Collierville Animal Shelter in Tennessee, and still no one came to adopt him.
That’s when the staff decided to give him a little boost — by pointing out something uncanny.
The dog, they realized, looked just like actor Paul Rudd.
Leaning into the resemblance, the team nicknamed him “Pawl Ruff” and shared a playful post on the town of Collierville’s official social media page.
To prove their point, they even created side-by-side comparison shots of the pup and the Marvel star himself.
The internet agreed — the likeness was spot on.
The post quickly took off, and while it jokingly asked Paul Rudd to consider adopting his canine counterpart, it also reached plenty of other dog lovers.
One of them was Collierville resident Jennifer Roy. She had already been thinking about adopting the sweet pup, but once she saw all the buzz — and realized she might be competing with Paul Rudd fans everywhere — she hurried to submit her application.
And it worked. Pawl Ruff finally found the happy ending he’d been waiting for: a forever home filled with love.
Thanks to a little creativity, some perfect timing, and a resemblance to one of Hollywood’s most beloved actors, this once-overlooked shelter dog is now living his best life.
Because sometimes, happy endings don’t just happen on the big screen.
