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Tuesday, April 29, 2014

There Is Hope for All Rescue Dogs Including My New Friend, Zorro!


Months ago my compassionate client, Maureen,  fostered Zorro, a timid pup who suffered through such unknown and horrific conditions that he, of course,  needed someone to help him feel confident, secure, and loved. 

Within days so fostering Zorro Maureen began to blog about him and that was when I told her, "I have a funny feeling that you're going to adopt him", and sure enough, my prophecy became true. 


Soon after his adoption took place Maureen personalized his crate with this sweet chalkboard sign and just above it is a hand painted picture of herself sitting between Zorro and her first pup, Tulah. Isn't that adorable?


One of the things Maureen did was to coax him to walk to the backyard to relieve himself; at first he would only stay out there for a few seconds but as time went on he was out there for a few minutes! 

The second victory was that his comfort level changed from eating from her hand to eating from his bowl within months since he was adopted. Tears of joy flowed from Maureen's eyes because she was even more sure that Zorro trusted her more than anyone he ever met.


I was updated quite a bit on Zorro's progress, of course, because I needed to know as many details as possible prior to visiting him so as to not alarm him. 

I was tentative about staying overnight and "babysitting" him for a few hours while Maureen was on vacation but as luck would have it he allowed me to pet him and give him treats. Another amazing thing that happened on my weekend overnight stay was that he went to his backyard with his sister, Tulah, for more than a few seconds!


Sadly, many who rescue dogs do not realize that it takes a great deal of time and effort to get them feeling comfortable in their new surroundings and should not be surrendered once again because the upheaval will be too confusing and harrowing for them. It may take weeks, months, or even years to rehabilitate these scared pups but it can be done!


If you would like to volunteer, donate, or foster through Zorro's rescue agency, Paws New England, click here. You'll be glad you did!

 

5 comments:

  1. Thank you for this post, it is so true. Sometimes it takes them forever to get past some things.
    stella rose

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    1. I've always known rescue dogs (and even cats) have a hard time trusting their new family members and it is difficult to get them to feel comfortable. When I adopted Daisy I had a hard time getting her acclimated to her new home. She frustrated me because of the barking, etc, but she learned to be better behaved in about a year and she is and always has been a joy to my life.

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  2. True. But it took me 2 months. Now I know this is my house but Lily is boss
    Edward (& Lily)

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    1. Ha! Ha! Lily is your boss, Edward! How funny! I'm glad you learned to adjust so quickly! You have a great home and your family is lucky to have you and vice versa.

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  3. Thank you!! What a great post! I live in Massachusetts and have three cats & three dogs... one of my dogs looks a little bit like Zorro, only bigger. I've had a couple of coonhound mixes. Nice to meet you. You can check out my blog at www.k2k9.blogspot.com :)

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