Today it the 28th of november 2023, exactly three months ago I adopted my dog from a shelter and here is our story!
I always dreamed of having a dog,since I was a child, I always loved dogs and interacting with them. Last summer, I finally had some kind of stability in my life, I started my PhD one year ago, moved to another appartement, and knew I was going to live in this city for at least the 3 upcoming years.
So the decision was made! I was going to have a dog!
First , I had two choices: Buy a dog or adopt one; and I decided to adopt.
I wanted to give a home to a dog that really needed it, I did not had a specific breed in my mind, I just wanted to adopt one!
So I just started googling shelters in the city where I live until I found one.
I contacted them and planned a visit and 3 days later I was at the shelter.
Once there, I had a talk with a woman that explained to me the conditions (not the best ones) from which they take the dogs, and invited me to stay a bit,I made a tour, all of them were so cuteeeeeee but I had a crush on a specific one. ( I can’t explain it, I never had a specific dog breed in my mind, just had a crush on this one) .
‘Ant’ as they named him was playing in a corner with another dog.
I asked the lady about him, and she told me his story : They took him at around 6 or 7 months after some breeders got rid of him, probably due to their inability to sell him .. just WOW , right?
Later on, she asked me some questions about myself to make sure I will be able to take care of him .
Anyways, after this encounter, the responsibles of the shelter accepted to make me a happy person!
I could not believe it will happen so fast. Visit 1 ! and Here it is, Ant is waiting for me to go home !
I went back home, *so happy about the news!*. The next day, I went to several petshops and bought all what was necessary for his arrival, from food to his sleeping pillow, then I prepared the appartement for him!
3 days later, once everything was ready, I went back to the shelter and took “Eden” home!
Here the *Finally Home* journey began..and here is how I behaved : ( Might be useful insights for someone there)
First days :
1 * His behaviour : Eden was afraid of humans, and obviously of me as he did not knew me, he spent the 6 first hours walking around the appartement smelling everything..
How I acted : I mostly let him smell whatever he wanted , as I prepared the appartement and removed all cables from the floor and anything that can be dangerous for him, so it was pretty safe for him to walk around.
2 * His behaviour : The first few days, he did not eat nor drink well, just walking around and getting used to the place..I stayed with him home.
How I acted : I did not tried to touch him nor to bother him, just tried to offer food in attractive way, and talking to him.. I gave him space .
First Week :
After 3 -4 days of ordering stuff and staying home,I needed to go out, so I needed him to get used to my absence.. Here is how I did it :
His behaviour : Eden started following me everywhere ( actually from day 2) and staying/sleeping next to me whereever I am ( Yes, this include the toilets/shower times)
How I acted : From day 4 or 5, I started opening the door of the appartement, closing it from outside, then opening it again.
Next I started going out for 5 , 10 , 15 minutes everyday for 3 -4 days, several times a day.
I increased this time gradually to 1 hour, 3 hours etc…
Now 3 months later, I can go to spend my day at the institute with him knowing I will come back , because this is it : He made crying sounds the first 3 times I went out (guess how I felt..) because he felt I was leaving him, But I showed him I will come back, and with gradually increasing times and frequency of goingout , he understood I will always come back❤
First Month :
Eden was not vaccinated , nor treated with any medicine ( anti-parasites, anti-puces) at the time I took him , so I started searching for medicine and vaccines as well as vet places near me.
It was important for me that he will have protection and immunity needed to interact with the outside world and with other dogs ..
Here, I followed advices given from the woman at the shelter, the first 10 days they recommended to let him adapt at the new place and not give him anything untill he is stable and not stressed, and I did that.
Next, I gave him the anti-parasites medicinces needed before vaccination, 10 days after we did the vaccines followed by 2 weeks of quarantine .
Anyway, the whole first month , Eden stayed home, got used to it and to me and got his vaccines
After that, we were free to go out …
Second and third months :
Here we are ! We started our first walks!
Eden who was approximativly ( according to the shelter )between 7–8 or 9 months when I adopted him,and he was never outside!! Shocking right?
He went from very poor conditions living in a cell at the not-so-honest breeders to a bigger cell in the shelter..So we needed to adress the outside world gradually as well !
And I was very happy to start this adventure with him,
How I did it :
At the beggining as he was afraid, I started holding him in my arms and going out for 10 min the first 2 days, twice a day, then increased the frequency and time gradually for him to get used to sounds, people , other dogs, buildings , cars … EVERYTHING outside ..
After one week, he was a bit better, always curious and less afraid ..
and as s I live near a parc , I started letting him walk, I still remember the first time.. hah!
Gradually , he started walking, smelling around him and looking at every moving being around us..
but then he started barking at every person coming near us or talking to me .. so we worked on that gradually..(May be some more details in another article)
Now, Eden is happily running outside, he is even happier when he understands we are going out then when he sees me I think, he knows the name “ Toutou” , his favorite toy, and runs to bring it to me everytime I ask him , “Where is Toutou”?
Conclusions :
I can see the huge progress we made, and I couldn’t be happier/more proud!
From a terrified dog , Eden is now smiling , playing with me, enjoying walks and socilizing with other dogs ( that came pretty naturally for him)
He is still afraid of sudden movements and sounds..
And sometimes not so happily barks at people( We are working on that so he will trust people I trust, however , I decided to give him time, and to even allow him to bark at foreign/stranger people trying to touch him…**
To finish on a personnel note and how I feel about this , I will say this : I am very happy with my Eden!
and I feel he is happy with me too .. :) ❤
3 months later..
Coming home to Eden running to me is the best moment of my day.
- **I allow it because somtimes people randomly approach him with : Oh how cute and trying to touch him , I consider this an unsollicited behaviour that should not be ok… no one knows the history of a specific dog, his traumas , nor should try to touch other dogs without permission, I always answer :Sorry, He does not want to be touched..and he usually barks when they try to so its pretty clear:)