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The foundation of your connection is developing a bond with your dog. Fortunately, if you demonstrate your reliability, this usually occurs rather quickly. Although not always. Puppies vary in their level of caution. like those whose former owners either abandoned them at shelters or raised them carelessly.
However, developing a relationship with rescues is definitely possible. You might need to adjust a little more initially, but eventually, you’ll have the best buddy for life. People started sharing their own touching stories of similar experiences after reading a recent post by Reddit user ThrowM3Away22 that detailed this same trip. Here are a few of the most stirring.
Image credits: ThrowM3Away22
FloydianCrazyDiamond the Redditor told a story about their dog. “Her name is Molly,” they said. “She’s mean, feisty, sassy, and aggressive, but also really cuddly and sweet when she wants to be.”
“I used to be her groomer and her previous owners surrendered her to me when they realized they weren’t fit to take care of her.”
With Molly for nine months, FloydianCrazyDiamond was able to gain her trust by being patient and allowing her to be independent. “In her previous home, she was locked in a kennel for 5 years straight, so I just never locked her up anywhere,” the Redditor said.
“She passed away on February 3rd from heart failure. She was showing signs of heart failure when we got her, but she improved almost immediately so we thought she was better and it was just a ‘broken heart.’ The day she passed, she got to try watermelon for the first time. She was so excited that she ran from couch to couch, and ended up falling between them. She was fine, I just had to grab her since she got stuck. So I think she went out happy, full of watermelon.”
“A year ago I started sitting a very old and sick dog. I knew this dog for most of my life and his owner is the most passionate and caring and competent owner a dog could have. She had 3 Whippets, the old, sick one, a young and ‘normal’ one, a really good boy, and a very young traumatized dog. The lattest is really aggressive against other dogs due to his trauma and with every other owner he would be a straight up danger to other dogs. All of those 3 wonderfull animals were brothers, which is also a big part in why the traumatized one (Johnny) could live with the other two without incidents.
Now my old and sick buddy Finn had a rare disease which kinda made his nerves disappear. It was harrowing to watch and got really bad, he couldnt really walk and bend his legs anymore, so he waddled everywhere. But his brain wasnt damaged – he was a happy and loving dog. And very attached to the owner. It was difficult to care for him, and she had trouble finding a dog sitter – she couldnt leave Fin at home alone, what if he fell? Or something happend?
But he could not walk properly so he couldnt come with her anywhere – not even on walks which his brothers desperately needed.
And so I was entrusted the glorious task of sitting him once a week. I had a great time with him, he layed on my lap, ate bananas out of my hand and eventually his owner taught me how to get him into the garden, so she could stay out a littler longer because I could help him go pee. Thing is, he could not bend down his knees and poop on his own, so you had to kinda hold him up on his leash. One day as I was there he couldnt manage that anymore. He hung there, trembling and so I kneeled down, hugged him and pushed his hip down, while holding him so he couldnt fall over. At first he was still trembling, trying to move his legs on his own, then suddenly I felt his whole body go kinda limp. He was still breathing, just really relaxed and just concentrated on getting that s**tty job done. It was a heartwarming feeling, having this dog trust me so much. He passed on a while later. I remember him very fondly, his brothers are fine, old but happy and healthy.”
“This also reminds me of the first dog we adopted together, who was at one point in his life trained to scratch the back door if he needed to go out. He was a big dog and our back door took a hit until we trained him to growl if he needed to go. One day my dad was visiting and the dog comes up to me and starts growling. Freaked my dad out until I told him it was okay, that the dog just needed to poop. Once I explained why we trained out dog to do that, my dad was impressed.”
Side note: We did phenobarbs and sodium bromide to treat his epilepsy, but he gained weight rapidly and his liver was shutting down. Worst of all, he still had seizures at least twice a year. Took him to a new vet, stopped his old meds, and started CBDs. He’s had 2 seizures in 4 years since!
My little guy also went through this same issue and would be scared to even ask to go potty. Now he’s got the potty dance down and also the potty word down when I say “who wants to go potty” – he about jumps for me to put harness and leash on him. I love him and wouldn’t trade him for a pup that doesn’t have his past. Pretty sure we are together for a reason.”
“It’s the best feeling when they finally trust us, isn’t it? One of my pups was quite mistreated before coming to me and for the first year, he would run away from pets and scratches, and a belly rub was never an option. Now, he actually comes to us to initiate pets, cuddles, scratches, and rolls over to request a full belly rub. It’s a great feeling.”
“Awe, I am so proud of her, too! I foster, so know some animals can have quirks. My Husky is a rescue and he can scream when terrified, perhaps she was beat when she pees and thus the scream. Poor hun, working with my little Atlas to make him feel safe and reduce. Food aggression.”
“This is why I adopt. I don’t think it’s bad to get a dog from a reputable breeder, but every time I look am my girl, I just smile knowing she is now in a warm and loving house and not on the street worrying about her next meal anymore.”
“Applause applause applause for your dear one – who is clearly trying to do right by her new parent. How wonderful! Give that pup a treat and climb on back in bed. Soon may following a trend toward successful potty training. Not training. TRUSTing. Clearly, she knows she can trust you and your love… and will become more and more comfortable and motivated, to potty alert and much more.
Bless you for giving her such a fine, nurturing home. And for recognizing what a huge feat this was for your furry companion with such a traumatic past. And at 3 AM no less. Yay, you!”
“We made the mistake off not getting up immediately when the 11 month puppy had for a few months got really whiney early one morning. She ended up having an accident right next to the toilet in our bathroom. She really tried so we were not mad at her.”
“Lucky girl to got a new patient owner! this is actually typical for dogs to do if they are trained to pee and poo outside. my dog is with me in the office all day and when she needs to go she comes to me and starts poking me with her nose so i now its time to go. they are such a lovely and intelligent creatures..”
“I had to teach my chihuahua night to be scared. I totally understand. She’s still a scaredy cat, but she won’t let anyone near me.”
What are your thoughts on these amazing stories? do you also have one you wold like to share with us? Comment down below.
