Shy Shelter Dog Who Just Wants to Play Is Stealing Hearts One at a Time
It's so rewarding and emotional to watch sweet dogs blossom into their best selves with your love and care, and I can tell that whoever adopts Dottie will get to experience that. Dottie is a playful but shy shelter pup who's waiting for a family of her very own at the San Diego Humane Society.
She starred in an 'aww'-inducing April 23 TikTok video, and now nearly 300 thousand people have seen her hesitant attempts to play. It's impossible to believe that no one has adopted her yet! Needless to say, her shelter friends are trying their hardest to find her the perfect adopter and playmate.
Aww! Dottie looks as cute as can be while peeking around the corner of her kennel like that. It absolutely melted my heart, and I know I'm not the only one! Commenters are absolutely gushing over the shy dog's desire to play.
Related: Shy Shelter Dog Getting Forever Family Is a Lesson in the Important of Patience
"Shy dogs are my fave," said viewer @doggyfieldtrips. "Once you gain their trust, it’s the best feeling ever!" I know exactly what you mean. It's not an overnight process, but helping a shy rescue dog feel safe can be the biggest accomplishment. Once they feel secure, they can gain more confidence than either of you could ever imagine. It will be like having a whole new dog!
If you peek at Dottie's adoption profile, you'll see that she's not so shy with the animal shelter volunteers. In fact, she loves her playmates! Clearly, play is the way into this girl's heart, and whoever adopts her will have many rounds of fetch and tug of war to look forward to.
Adopting the Shy Shelter Dog
Carter's story is my favorite to tell when encouraging others to adopt a shy shelter dog. He singlehandedly changed my family's life with his love and silliness, but he wasn't always the king of the castle. In fact, he was terrified when we met him in the shelter!
I didn't know what to expect when I walked into the local animal shelter with my dad nearly 14 years ago, but it took about ten seconds for me to fall in love with the shyest dog there. He was matted, afraid, and curled up in the back of his kennel, but he lifted his head to look at me, and that was that!
Things turned completely upside down when we came back for a meet and greet. Once he started to play, he was one happy dog! In fact, he still loves to play as a senior dog, though it looks a little bit different now. It goes to show that giving the shy shelter dog a chance could give you the greatest gift!
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