Woman Daringly Put Her Face Against Hostile Dog Even When They Told Her Not To

When dogs arrive at a shelter, they always have a story to tell, writes ilovemydogsomuch

Volunteers and shelter workers do their best to try and accommodate what they can but so many dogs that suffer from trauma are mislabeled as aggressive. This is what happened to Eliza.

Eliza arrived at a shelter in a great deal of pain. She was petrified and anxious. Her behavior was understandable yet she was labeled ‘aggressive’ which made things more complicated for her. Besides being physically injured, Eliza was terrified of humans.

When Eliza arrived at Annie’s house, she had to be carried inside. She was too afraid to even walk from the car into Annie’s home. Annie lifted her onto the couch and she just kind of sunk into it as if she finally found a safe spot. Because the animal shelter is so loud and traumatic, Eliza hadn’t gotten much sleep. Now that she was with Annie, she slept for 24 hours straight. Which was exactly what she needed!

It was as if Annie knew exactly what to do to improve Eliza’s spirit. She allowed her to take the time to settle in and sat with her for reassurance. Annie took things slow. She knew a dog like Eliza needed to do things on her own time. When Eliza ate her first treat, it was as if her whole spirit lit up! She loved it.

Three days later, the most magical thing happened. It may not seem like a big deal to us but for a dog like Eliza, it certainly was. Annie reached her hand out to pet the pup and Eliza gave Annie her first kisses. Annie knew, for sure, right there and then, that this dog was transforming into who she was meant to be!

As much as Eliza was improving, she still had some major setbacks. Annie realized that the pup had a severe fear of collars and leashes. She wasn’t sure why but Annie knew this was something she needed to work on in order to get her used to being a “real dog.” The first time Annie managed to get a leash and collar on Eliza, she just laid down for an entire 30 minutes and refused to move.

But Annie wasn’t going to give up. However, even when she managed to get Eliza to stand up, with the collar on, she would cringe the moment Annie tried to touch her. Something terrible had happened to this dog and her foster mom wanted to try anything and everything she could to help her.

Day 10 was amazing. Annie woke up and went downstairs and Eliza normally just laid in her bed, unmoved. But this time, she got up, despite her bad hip, and greeted Annie with a full-body wag. It made Annie so happy. This was why fostering was all worth it!

What follows in this incredible story is too fantastic to miss. The shelter had basically given up on Eliza and deemed her unadoptable but that couldn’t have been further from the truth. Thanks to The Dodo, you get to experience Eliza’s full story below. We couldn’t be more grateful to fosters like Annie for all the work they do to help animals in need.