Clayton was only four months old when he was found abandoned and tied to a pole.
"He was just thrown away, really," RSPCA ACT chief executive officer Michelle Robertson said.
A year on, the social kelpie-cross still lives in the RSPCA shelter where he's a fan favourite amongst staff who hope he'll soon find his forever home.
He, and so many dogs like him, are why thousands of Canberrans gathered with their four-legged friends on a chilly and grey long weekend Sunday for the Million Paws Walk.
The charity event held on the Patrick White Lawns aims to raise money but is just as importantly about "awareness and education" surrounding animal cruelty.
"Even a single case of cruelty is one too many," Ms Robertson said.
"We're an animal-loving city and cruelty has no place here."
Clayton falls in the roughly 80 per cent of dogs the RSPCA ACT house who have experienced trauma and need "special homes", Mr Robertson said.
His carer on Sunday said she had fielded interest from one person attending the event later in the hopes of meeting him.
Fingers and claws crossed.
Ms Robertson said the event felt like the first normal gathering since the pandemic cancelled two in a row and kept some potential attendees away last year.
"It feels like there were at least 1000 dogs here," Ms Robertson said of the event's peak, when the walk around Lake Burley Griffin first set off at 11am.
A handy number of those dogs belonged to two friends, Tamika Lovelock and Robbie Young, who gave an apt answer when asked how they knew each other.
"Dogs," Mr Young replied.
Two of their German shepherds (they own six between them) met at a previous RSPCA gathering and the rest is history.
Ms Lovelock said she "spiralled" into multiple dog ownership from the age of 18, nowadays training, breeding and even getting involved in "bite sports", which assess obedience, tracking and protection.
The pair, seemingly like so many in attendance, were proud to say much of their lives revolved around their furry friends.
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