I often hear people talk about Shelter Animals and Rescue Animals are "damaged" or "unadoptable" like they are somehow less worthy of love and devotion than Pet Shop animals. It bothers me because 1000s of animals every year are put to death while people go to expensive Puppy Mill Breeders to adopt the perfect pets. It also saddens me because of the deplorable conditions many of these animals live in because Breeders are more interested in money than taking care of the animals.
This is Trellis. She and her Sister (Who passed away recently) are probably animals the anti-Shelter people would use as their poster children. We adopted them both 11 years ago from a wonderful Rescue Group. I was told they they were going to be put down because they were too timid and fearful to be adopted. At the time I had a massive fenced in back yard and I would be damned before I'd let animals be put to death because they were frightened. We were told that the pups had been horribly abused as puppies with beatings and being imprisoned in cages too small for them to move around in. We were told that they might never interact with us or trust us. We adopted them anyway.
Thus began an 11 year exercise in frustration and pain. No matter how well we treated them and no matter what we tried, it seemed like the dogs would ever trust us. They hid in the dog run whenever we came out the back door and don't even get me started on how difficult it was to get them to the vets once a year for their shots and checkups. (Actually towards the end of our time in Georgia, we had given up on that and arranged for a mobile Vet company to come by once a year to do what needed to be done.
I think most people would have given up and even sent the dogs away. I am not proud to admit there were a couple of times I thought of doing it myself. Still, I never gave up and towards the end of her entirely to short time with us, Trina actually started to warm up to us. Trellis stayed fearful and refused to interact with us any more than she had to.
Fast forward a year or so after our big migration to the DC area. Trellis now is a completely different dog. She hangs out upstairs with the family. We go for long walks and she gets lots and lots of attention. She is still a little fearful, but she is growing braver every single day. After 11 long years, I finally get to have her be a willing member of the family. It wasn't easy, but this long journey is finally starting to crest the top of the hill.
What people seem to mean when they say Shelter/Rescue animals are damaged and cannot be adopted is "I don't have the time or willingness to help them move through whatever horrors they might have been exposed to." I can understand the feeling. Adopting a new puppy or kitten who won't have those problems is a lot easier. However, I can promise you that every time I now cuddle with my dog or go for a walk in the sunshine with her, all of the pain, frustration and effort was worth it. The next time you are thinking about adopting, think about a dog or cat stuck in a cage somewhere frightened and yearning for a home. Take a chance. Trust me, it is worth it.
Brew Long and Prosper
