Ronnie Stanley, Ravens OT, Requests 'Not-so-Adoptable' Dog from Animal Shelter

Baltimore Ravens rookie offensive tackle Ronnie Stanley is making a positive impact on the community before even playing his first professional game, as he adopted a rescue dog in heartwarming fashion Wednesday.

As seen in this Facebook post excerpt from the BARCS Animal Shelter in Baltimore, the 2016 No. 6 overall draft pick out of Notre Dame adopted a six-year-old dog named Winter with his girlfriend after asking for a dog who had been at the shelter for a long period of time and was "not-so-adoptable":

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When they checked into our front desk, they let us know just what they were looking for--and for a superstar like Ronnie...you'll never guess what requested. "We are looking for dog that's been here a long time and maybe not-so-adoptable." Our matchmakers were delighted. "Not-so-adoptable" can mean a lot of things here: senior pets, physically imperfect, on-going medical and more. ...

... It was a done deal. Ronnie and his girlfriend signed Winter's adoption papers and took her to her new home the same day.

Once a discarded pup, now the doggy-daughter to a Raven.

We are so proud to have amazing guys like Ronnie to be role models to the kids in our city. Not only does his single act of kindness make adoption cool, but it makes giving love to an imperfectly perfect dog a 'manly' thing to do.

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The 22-year-old from Las Vegas is in line to be the Ravens' starting left tackle as a rookie after the team released veteran Eugene Monroe on Wednesday, according to ESPN.com.

Per Ryan Mink of the Ravens' official website, Stanley believes he is up for the challenge: "I was talking to some people saying this is probably the first time ever that I've felt this kind of pressure. I've never really felt pressure like that before. It's something I know that I can handle and it's just part of the transition to the NFL. It's a production business and that's the way it's always going to be."

Baltimore selected Stanley near the top of the draft in hopes that he could develop into a perennial All-Pro much like 2013 Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee and Ravens legend Jonathan Ogden.

While Stanley has a long way to go before reaching that level on the field, the decision to draft him is already paying dividends for the Ravens from a character perspective. 

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