A Happy Ending for Rafael

Rafael, a gorgeous young Rottweiler, came into the shelter one very, very scared dog.  He would sit at the back of his kennel when a person approached and he didn't want to interact with anyone. He would retreat to the very back of his kennel and stay there all day long. No one was able to touch him; he flinched and ran away from attempts to pet him. Some of the regular volunteers noticed how scared he was. But they also noticed that he would make good eye contact with people and that when you looked into his eyes, you could see the glimmer in his eye of him wanting to interact but just being too frightened. Every day volunteers would go into his kennel and just sit with him, sometimes singing, sprinkling treats around the floor & offering them to Rafael to let him know that it was okay; that people were there to help & befriend him. He began to relax a little and was becoming more comfortable with us spending time with him in his kennel.

Just as Rafael was getting used to having a person in his kennel, he got an upper respiratory infection and had to spend more than a week in isolation. Volunteers were unable to interact with him. Everyone was worried about how this setback would effect the progress we'd been making.  Once Rafael was healthy and back into the general population, the volunteers started working with him again.  It was slow progress but there was always progress.  He still didn't want to be touched, but finally someone got him leashed up and out of his kennel.  Next thing you know he wouldn't let a person touch him but if he touched the person it was okay.  He started giving kisses. After weeks at the shelter, a customer became interested in Rafael.  The pink Interest Pending tag was there on Rafael's kennel gate for a long time as the customer contemplated what it would take to give Rafael the home he really needed. The customer ended up adopting a young female Rottweiler so this opened up Rafael to other potential adopters. But no other adopters emerged for Rafael; despite his great strides he was still timid about interacting with people and this meant most customers didn't notice him. More time went by.

When one of our wonderful staff members noticed that Rafael was "at risk" and brought it to the attention of another staff member, they contacted the customer who had previously shown interest to let him know about Rafael's status.  In the meantime the customer had adopted a young female Rottweiler but he didn't want to see Rafael be in harm's way.  He came down to the shelter and spent two and a half hours with Rafael.  He made Rafael feel confident--sometimes laying next to him in his kennel.  They scheduled a meet and greet with Darlene, the new rottie girl that the customer had adopted from the shelter.  The meet and greet went okay but not great.  Both dogs had to let the other know where their limits were.  Another meet and greet was scheduled for the next day.  This time Rafael was in excellent form - walking with a prance in his step.  People were petting on him and he and the female rottie were getting along!  Rafael was a new dog.  The frightened dog who had come in weeks ago had disappeared and left a confident boy in it's place.  That customer adopted Rafael after the second meet and greet.  Rafael's new owner knows that he had issues and was patient, thoughtful and loving; and he's prepared to provide Rafael with the special attention he needs to continue working through any timidity or fears that he may have. Thankfully, now that Rafael is a long way from the shelter, those fears are now more a matter of who gets the best seat on the couch!

Without our wonderful staff and volunteers, and without this customer willing to step up and save a dog that needed saving, this couldn't have happened.