Rio’s owner had suddenly passed away and the sweet dog was brought to the Detroit Animal Care and Control shelter. However, after arriving, the shelter staff could tell that something wasn’t quite right. The poor dog wouldn’t eat, wouldn’t let anyone touch him, and wouldn’t face anyone – he would just stare at the wall.
Having lived ten years with his owner, Rio was left confused and heartbroken as to what was going on. He couldn’t understand why everything he had ever known was suddenly stripped away from him. Now, he was in a loud, scary, unfamiliar kennel.
“We take on [the shelter’s] tougher medical and mental health cases, so dogs who may be shutting down or suffering from kennel neurosis,” Kristina Millman-Rinaldi, executive director of Detroit Dog Rescue, told The Dodo. “A lot of people don’t realize what intuitive and sensitive creatures dogs are. They sense, like humans, everything that’s happening around them.”
By the time he had been transferred to DDR, Rio’s condition had worsened. The sweet dog was unreactive to everyone, he wouldn’t respond to his name, and wouldn’t look away from the corner of the shelter walls. Kristina knew that the only way they could help Rio was to place him in a safe, loving foster home.
After making some calls, Kristina contacted a volunteer named Ryan Callahan and his wife Tashia. They heard Rio’s story, and without a second thought, they decided to take him in. Despite having two dogs of their own, as well as another foster dog from DDR, the Callahans wanted to help.
“It was just right dog, right place, right time,” Ryan said. “He needed us, and we were able to provide the one-on-one time he needed.”
For the first time, Rio didn’t shudder away from a human’s touch; it was almost as if the dog could sense that Ryan and his wife were there to help him. To make sure that the ten-year-old dog was comfortable, they made him a room in Ryan’s office.
During the first week, Ryan, who works at home, was able to bond with Rio and slowly get him used to his new surroundings. It wasn’t long before Rio would rest on Ryan’s feet and now sits on his lap, gazing up with adoring and grateful eyes.
“I don’t know if it’s becoming more familiar with my wife and I, or learning that he’s still loved, but over the last week, he’s gone from not leaving the corner of the room and howling nonstop to sleeping through the day,” Ryan said. “Every time we walk by him, he wags his tail, and he loves going for walks in the woods with us.”
“My hope is that he doesn’t have to go another day wondering where he is or what is happening around him,” Ryan said. “That his new life — whatever that ends up being — is even better than his last one.”
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