Meet Pumpkin. Pumpkin came to the shelter as a youngster with semi-erect ears and interesting markings. We were certain that she’d be highly adoptable. However, being the young herding cross she was, Pumpkin was wonderfully energetic, and the shelter environment soon took its toll on her. She became obsessed with chasing the shadows of the dogs in the pen next to hers, barking and running back and forth; even as she got tired she never let up her chase. This made adopters frown and pass her by, as an obsessed dog isn’t pleasing to the eye, and certainly not the type to make a well-rounded companion.
We decided that an exercise program was in-order for her. Coupled with training, this should give her both the mental and physical exercise that her mind and body craved. However, Pumpkin was also insecure. As soon as we left the kennel she’d be longing and clawing to get back in, scrambling across the sidewalk for the entire walk in the direction of the shelter.
Walks became something that Pumpkin dreaded; she’d lead us on a chase around her pen to catch her to put the leash on. She became so distressed that her shadow-chasing intensified to growling and snarling.
We kept up our vigil of walking her, hoping that our treats, praise, and dedication would snap her out of it. And sure enough, one day we found what she needed. On one of our walks she found something that was so interesting and new that she was enthralled.
It was a soccer ball some kids had left outside after a rainy day of play, and she loved it! The excitement of finding a toy so different from all her others was glorious for her.
She was proud of herself, which made us proud. All that time we spent coaxing her, we had been using the toys she had seen everyday for weeks. All she needed was something new and refreshing to spark her interests.
She wanted to be out and about so much now, that she asked for it by pawing at passers-by.
Apparently, she pawed at someone’s heart one day, as she was quickly adopted.