Any time someone walks into the Mason County Animal Shelter in the little town of Pt. Pleasant to see the dogs, they are told, “It’s going to get loud back there. We have no vicious dogs, but sometimes they act a fool in their kennel for various reasons. These dogs are completely different outside of the kennel than inside.”
Though this is said to each visitor, some dog’s in-kennel behavior is still a huge deterrent for adoption.
Recently, we had a foster, Gina, take a chance on one of these pups and this is their story.
Meet Dolce. Dolce is mixed breed dog, who is about four-years-old. She was rescued from a hoarding situation with approximately 35 other dogs, many of them puppies.
At the time Gina met Dolce, she had been calling the shelter home for a little over seven months and had had some barrier reactivity.
“Dogs housed in kennels can sometimes display ‘cage aggression’ or barrier reactivity. They may seem aggressive, but often, it’s rooted in fear, stress, or frustration,” according to an informational post on the Stafford County Animal Shelter of Virginia’s Facebook page.
Dolce was a prime example of a dog with barrier reactivity.
While in her kennel. Dolce would bark in what many felt was an aggressive manner, but once she was out of the kennel she was often timid and shied away from people she did not know. However, once given time to warm up to you, Dolce was the sweetest dog.
Gina came into the shelter looking to foster a dog who needed it the most and Dolce was a top candidate.
“Yes, I was very hesitant when I met her in her kennel. She acted like she would eat me up,” said Gina. “Then when you took her out, she wasn’t mean, however [it] took a while to even let me pet her, she just totally ignored me. Broke my heart when all she done was stand at the door to go back to her kennel, her safe space. I hadn’t experienced anything quite like her before.”
After spending some time with Dolce, Gina was ready to take her for a foster stay, something that did not come without its own challenges.
“Such a nervous little girl, ready to act brave and scare everyone away, including my two Labs. She barked and growled and truly had me concerned for a few days after bringing her home,” said Gina.
But Gina and her family did not give up, they soon learned some of Dolce’s quirks and how to navigate them.
“She refuses entering a crate/kennel to this day here. So, I no longer ask her to [try]. It is something ‘behind wire & fencing’ that causes her to react and makes her go into ‘guard mode’ or something,” said Gina. “I often wonder what she is thinking and what all she experienced in her previous home.”
Gina says Dolce is like a new dog with them and is even doing well with new visitors.
“When I bring the person inside the yard/fence with her and she sees that my husband and I are okay with that person, she completely accepts them and goes about her merry little way being happy once again,” said Gina. “If we don’t take the person inside or bring her outside the fence, then she will continue to bark, growl and acts like she will eat them up. Nothing wrong with that though. We like that she protects her people if an intruder would come.”
“If we accept them, she accepts them so that is fine with us! Any time she is outside of her fence she is fine with everyone,” Gina said.
Gina said all of the extra love and attention has truly shown them a different side of Dolce!
“Her tail would rarely ever wag for the first few days and now it wags all the time,” said Gina. “We have shown her a happy life from the time we brought her here and lots and lots of innocent love. It has truly paid off. She now loves playing with toys, side [by] side rides, four wheeler rides and long walks with her lab friends on the farm.”
Gina expressed the joy that Dolce has brought into their lives from the first moment and how grateful they are to have fostered her, even if she was intimidating at first.
“We are truly so glad to have her as part of our family and I am so glad to have looked beyond that scared, stressed, barking and growling little girl that was standing behind that kennel door [to give] her a chance for a new start,” said Gina. “Thank you for allowing us to foster then adopt this little bouncy ball of joy “
The difference of environment has made Dolce the happiest girl.
“She truly does act completely happy and content with life now,” said Gina.
Fostering truly makes a difference in a dog’s life. There are several ways to foster, including with the intent to adopt or fostering to give the dog a brief break from the shelter. Any time a dog gets to get out of the shelter and be with other people, likelihood of that animal being adopted in the future increases.
If you’ve been on the fence about fostering, please reach out to us with any questions, we would be happy to answer them and maybe even pair you up with a great match!
