Dog tagged 'free to good home' with marker adopted

CHILLICOTHE, Ohio — A dog found Friday with "free" and "free to a good home" written all of her with permanent marker was adopted Wednesday morning.

Marvella, a lab mix, was dumped at Yoctangee Park in Chillicothe. Pictures of her sparked outrage and then a surge in applications to adopt her.

"She definitely loves people," said Linette Wrightsel, the first person to apply to adopt her. "You can just feel that from her eyes and her soul.She's a sweetheart and we really feel she could be a great match for our family."

More than 30 people from California to Massachusetts have applied to adopt her after the Ross County Humane Society rescued her and cleaned the marker off of her.

"It just seems childish to me in my opinion," said Sarah Cantrell with the Ross County Humane Society. "There were lots of other options that she could have tried to take before she did what she did."

Someone from the Humane Society named her Marvella, which means "miracle".

"She will be somebody's miracle after they adopt her," Cantrell said."It's heartwarming to see how many people are willing to love her, not knowing nothing about her."

Cantrell said Chillicothe Police have started an investigation into who dumped Marvella. She said they have an idea who may have done it.

Cantrell said she hopes Marvella's story will inspire others to help out the Humane Society. She said they lose money on every dog they rescue because their adoption fee is less than the work they put in to get each dog ready for adoption.

The Ross County Humane Society said the Wrightsel family was able to adopt Marvella Wednesday morning and take her to her new home.