My first “shelter” dog didn’t actually make it to the shelter. This young shih tzu was found wandering up and down a neighborhood street in the rain crying. Her family had moved and left her. My sister’s friend had been fostering her and knew I was looking for another shih tzu as a buddy for my shih tzu Maddie. I took “Gracie” the abandoned pup, in and it took her 3 years to quit cowering and running if someone reached over her or lifted something over her head. I don’t think she was treated kindly by the adults in her household but she loved kids. She would run and hide when adults came over but when kids showed up she would run to them and sit in the middle of the floor with them and bask in the attention. She was the sweetest, kindest soul, but not the brightest. Never really learned anything and potty training was hit and miss. She had some health issues and had to be put down when she was 8yrs old.
My next shelter dog was found as a 2 yr old that had just had pups. She was thought to be an anatolian cross, likely crossed with foxhound due to her markings. A good friend had fostered her. She was very timid, very scared, very sweet, and terrified of men. I adopted her and started a very slow process of getting her comfortable with life. She was terrified of all noises, down to wind hitting a stop sign, my neighbor shutting the door to their house (you could hear it slightly inside my house), much less the train and sirens from living in the city. She bonded to my renter’s dog. That dog really gave Roux confidence and she started to shine. Then COVID happened and my renter, who was a college student, was called home by her parents. When they moved out Roux regressed back to where she was when she first came to me. She hid all day in the back room, had to be called out to eat and relieve herself outside. She was miserable. After talking to my friend who fostered her initially, they agreed to take her back and see if she would be happier with them in the country. While she is still a timid dog, she now has a person of her own and is participating in life with their pack of dogs and crashing on the couch in the evenings her person. My shih tzu at the time was just not enough of a confidence builder for her. She was much happier in the country with multiple dogs in the household.
