To A Homeless Dog You Could Be The World

This week has seen cooler temperatures but no relief in unwanted animals.  If you haven’t noticed, our weekly theme is consistently, “help there are too many unwanted animals and too few homes.”

Heath our Pet of the Week - Looking for his forever home 

Dogs that have been dumped, surrendered, or abandon by their humans often suffer from behavior issues, including excitability, attention-seeking issues, hyperactivity, persistent barking, fear and aggression toward strange people and dogs.  These dogs can exhibit bizarre, strange or repetitive behaviors such as hoarding, digging deep holes, or compulsive behaviors like sucking on cloth or licking the furniture.

Sonya is a sweet shy girl, she is looking for a fulltime family

Our staff and volunteers understand that these dogs are going to have mental health issues, but often we have good people with good intentions adopt our rescue dogs only to bring them back to the shelter because they do not understand the dog’s behavior.

Rehabilitating an abused dog presents a significant challenge, because these animals have been exposed to negative things they can’t unlearn despite your best efforts. But it’s important to feel hopeful, because life-changing progress can be made and there’s nothing more gratifying.

It takes time to help an abused dog learn to be less fearful and develop trust in humans again. With knowledge, hard work, and commitment, a previously abused pet can be transformed into a much-loved member of your family… but they can’t be reborn. It’s important to always remember that.

Here are some general guidelines for creating a safe environment for a previously abused dog(s):

• Make them feel loved and needed; communicate clearly with them
• Do not force anything on them under any circumstances – allow them to adapt to their new family and life at their own pace. Provide them with a safe place where they can be alone when they feels like it
• Protect them from whatever they fears
• Create opportunities for them to be successful and build their confidence            

We share all of this information this week in hopes that we will have a few good people with good intentions, who are willing to put time, effort, and love into helping us rehabilitate those who have been dumped, surrender or abandoned.  

Volunteers at Petco 

We promise in return you will have wet noses kisses and free tail wags. 

“To the world you are one person, to a dog you could be the world”

If you would like to be a foster home please call Pam Ford at 838-5512.