When Raven, a sweet and lovable dog, first arrived at her foster home, she was a little shell-shocked. Having been in and out of shelters, it was clear that she was stressed out and needed time in a home environment to have any chance of becoming a family dog. Her foster parents, Collin and Katy, quickly discovered that Raven was a “Velcro dog,” meaning she would follow them everywhere he went. They also found out that she wasn’t very comfortable around their two other dogs.
To help Raven adjust to being around other dogs and make her more ‘adoptable,’ her foster family introduced her to their pets outdoors. When that didn’t work, they moved the introductions indoors, which seemed more successful. They would walk her around the living room, allowing her to smell the scents and get used to the presence of the other dogs. After three weeks of doing this periodically, Raven was able to hang out in the same space with the other dogs for 20 to 30 minutes without any issues. This was a significant progress for her.
Eventually, Raven reached a point where she could walk side by side with the other dogs, but it was evident that she was happiest when she was just with people. Her foster family knew it would be more challenging to find a family without pets to adopt her.
Fortunately, a young couple and their little girl expressed interest in adopting Raven and decided to do a foster-to-adopt trial for two weeks to ensure she would get along with everyone. About a week later, when her foster family checked in with the couple, they received a text saying, “She’s definitely our dog.” Their little girl was smitten with Raven, and they couldn’t imagine taking her away from her new favorite human.
Although it was sad for her foster family to say goodbye, they were happy that Raven found her forever home. And with Raven’s successful adoption, they could open their home to another dog in need.