Building trust with a dog who has never known real human affection can be difficult. It takes patience. More than anything, you have to know that a dog will only trust you when they’re ready – it can’t be rushed.
Though she’s their newest rescue, this sweet Beagle has become an excellent ambassador for her humans! Little Serendipity (or “Seren” for short) was rescued from a pen at a market. She may have had some positive human interaction before, being at a market, with potential buyers playing with her and petting her. She was not as weary of people as these other dogs were. Also, she still has her puppy curiosity and exuberance – which means that even if she was afraid of people before, she wasn’t for long!
Seren may be young, but she has already mastered her new position at the rescue! She’s very respectful approaching these larger dogs – an excited puppy may want to jump right in and get straight to playtime, but Seren knows that this is an important, sensitive job and it requires a careful hand!
The dogs in the enclosure were not raised by humans, but lived as feral dogs before being rescued. The yellow dog lived with a pack of other dogs, running wild with them for over a year before the entire pack was trapped and rescued. The brown dog was raised in a mud-filled pipe with six other dogs, wading and living every day in mud that came up to her belly. These dogs may not be able to run wild, but they’re being rehabilitated, are receiving medical care, and will eventually get what all rescue dogs want – a family!
But before they can be introduced to people, they have to learn that humans can be family too! Rehabilitation for these dogs means getting them socialized with people, and it’s not an easy task for their caregivers, but they have help!
Seren gets right to work, and comes to the other dogs with a customary greeting – a gentle sniff, moving slowly, respectfully allowing herself to be sniffed in return. The other dogs are still quick to back away, though – not ready yet to allow Seren’s human friend a chance to say hello. Seren is just getting started, though, and is working her magic as we watch!
Seren’s tail takes over while she continues to sniff her way into their area with her Beagle nose. It goes back and forth, saying, “Hey, I’m friendly, and my friend here is too!” She walks right into their enclosure without any trouble, because who could say no to that little tail? Even the other dogs love it!
Finally, Seren goes in, and has cleared the way for her friend to enter too! The other dogs look a little weary at first of Seren’s human friend, but you can tell that they’re curious about her, and might be ready to meet her! Once she takes a seat, they come right over to sniff and see what she’s about. Seren, you’ve done it! Well done!
Watch Seren win over the dogs (and our hearts) in the video below!
