Some shelter dogs spend their entire lives not knowing that the outside world can be beautiful with the right family. Ralphie was one of those dogs.
After being found in the winter of 2021, this pup, with a heartbreaking past, never got the proper chance. Due to his previous experiences, Ralphie was afraid of literally everything.
He growled at other dogs, strangers, and even photos from advertisements. He was as far from being a properly socialized dog as possible. But then, a woman showed up — and showed him that life can be pretty sweet.
Reactive All The Time
Ralphie was rescued from the streets by a group of people after being spotted near a local cemetery. After picking him up, they brought him to Evanston Animal Shelter in Illinois.
“This hunk of love came to us on Christmas Day in 2021. He had been running around a nearby cemetery for days during the cold winter until one day, a group of friendly people were able to get him to safety,” EAS shared on Facebook.
Being in the shelter, confined to a tiny enclosure, definitely didn’t do any good to Ralphie. If possible, it only made his existing reactivity worse.
“Ralphie walked into our shelter a defeated, skinny, heartbroken little guy but he won us over immediately,” the Illinois shelter added.
After over a thousand days in the shelter, Ralphie’s caregivers began to lose hope. They realized this pup would probably never get a shot at happiness unless he was given a chance to live outside the shelter.
Enter Lauren Burns!
This foster, who works with reactive dogs, knew Ralphie’s training would require time and patience. She slowly introduced him to her home and let Ralphie adjust at his own pace.
Before long, Ralphie began to feel at home!
Making His First True Friend
Lauren found the perfect way to direct Ralphie’s attention: with delicious treats. Little by little, Ralphie learned to play with plushies and felt comfortable around Burns.
The only thing left was for Ralphie to meet Winnie, Lauren’s other dog. They spent the first few days sniffing each other from inside the crate. Then, Lauren started to reward the pups every time they were near each other without being reactive.
Soon enough, a friendship was made! One day, Ralphie was lying on the balcony when Winnie approached him — and started to play. This was a breakthrough moment, the sign that Ralphie had officially made his first friend!
Ever since that moment, Ralphie has been going strong. He started to warm up to other people, including Burns’ boyfriend.
“He’s done great with his foster sibling and is warming up to new people all the time,” the shelter wrote in another post.
So far, Ralphie has spent over a year in Lauren’s home, feeling already like part of the family. However, what he truly needs is a home for himself, with people who will appreciate Ralphie as the only pet.
With patience and love, there’s no doubt that Ralphie will make a wonderful addition to any family.
“He’s a gem, he’s a diamond in the rough, he’s everything good in life. He just needs a family that can show him unconditional love and some patience and will enjoy his antics as much we do,” EAS concluded.
Hopefully, his adopters are just around the corner, waiting to shower Ralphie with love!