(Zeus the Newfoundland (left), adopted out by the Duxbury Animal Shelter last month, is adjusting well to his new life Newfie sister, Emma.)

Zeus the Newfoundland has found his forever home. Adopted two weeks ago by John Scag and his Newfoundland Emma, Zeus couldn’t be happier.

“He’s loving it,” said Scag, a familiar face around Duxbury as owner of Scag Tree. “We’re having a grand time, but it’s not been without its challenges.” Scag said Zeus and Emma have had their tussles as they find their way into becoming a family, but that he believes Zeus is trying hard to be the best dog he can be.

“I’m a big believer in second chances,” said Scag. “We all make mistakes and you have to look beyond that.”

Found abandoned on Duxbury Beach last June, his fur matted and skin covered in ticks, Zeus had a significant case of Lyme disease that left him mortally ill. Lovingly nursed back to health by Duxbury Animal Shelter volunteer Susan Curtis and Animal Control Officer Eddy Ramos, Zeus was also an ill-behaved dog. At 160 pounds and filled with the strength and energy of a two-year-old, most any other shelter would have found him too aggressive and euthanized him. Instead Curtis and Ramos worked with him for months, brought in trainers and searched all over New England for an experienced hand to adopt him. That’s when Diane Dewberry, owner of The Healthy Animal in Pembroke, stepped in. A supporter of the Duxbury Animal Shelter, Dewberry knew Scag, a longtime customer of The Healthy Animal, had recently lost his beloved golden and had raised Newfie Emma from puppyhood. She recognized immediately how all three needed each other and found a way to introduce the heartbroken Scag to Zeus.

“Dewberry was the big reason,” said Scag. “Just before Christmas, I lost the love of my life and I tried to keep things good for Emma, but I was grief stricken and she was too.”

Since moving in with Scag and Emma, Zeus’s big personality has blossomed and he’s showing improvements every day. So much so, Scag now takes him to the office where his employees have all fallen for the big pup. Even Emma, who may have been a little hesitant at first, now likes nothing better than to romp in the yard with her new friend with a bounce to her pounce Scag hasn’t seen since they lost his golden. For Scag, too.

“It’s a slow process, but they’re becoming buddies,” said Scag. “It’s doing my heart good. I did it for Emma first, then Zeus and then me.”

When Curtis received photos from Scag showing the dog she so lovingly cared for all those months, happily resting on a dog bed with Emma, she said, “This is what we live for.”