“He wanted love, but he didn’t know how to go about getting it.”
This is how Ralphie’s fur mom, Nanette, would describe him.
His story seems too familiar to most of us, especially when we come across rescued senior dogs.
They seem scared or confused, and we somehow understand that it must have been a difficult life for them.
Nanette recently lost two senior dogs – Stan and George – which devastated her.
With their advanced age, one might think they would be ready for this, but nothing could prepare you for when your pets say goodbye.
Most owners who lost a pet would not be too eager to get a new one, but Nanette found the perfect dog.
A rescuer called her and said a senior dog was in a kill shelter in California.
It wasn’t difficult to convince Nanette to take in the dog; all it took was a photo of him, which immediately touched her heart.
She told her husband she had to get that dog, and off they went to the shelter to meet Ralphie for the first time.
Nanette described their first meeting as “interesting.”
Compared to her previous dogs, Ralphie was much taller, but his humped back made him look shorter.
He also had this left micro eye and big, very expressive ears.
But the one thing that concerned Nanette was his attitude towards her and her husband.
She noticed that Ralphie was scared of human contact.
When they tried to pet him, he would make himself small before falling to the ground as if expecting to get hit.
There were also things that were confusing for him, like overall interaction – with humans and other dogs.
It gave Nanette the impression that Ralphie must have had a difficult past 12 years.
However, this didn’t stop her from caring and loving this senior dog.
She continued to give him the proper care, especially for his hunched back, and she had some teeth extracted.
More so, she never stopped trying to show him what love is until he finally learned not to be afraid of her.
One pivotal moment in their relationship was when Nanette took Ralphie to a friend’s party.
Other dogs were around and, like any other dog, got curious about Ralphie. The dog barked at him, excited and wanting to play.
Nanette was carrying Ralphie when he let out this long, beautiful howl.
He was like singing his lungs out, making his fur mom teary-eyed because she’s never seen him interact with others like that.
Nanette and her husband are never giving up on him.
They are working to help Ralphie regain his strength and trust them more.
He loves taking walks with his husband, but he growls at him even when he speaks.
Her husband’s trying to get close to Ralphie; we all know that’s a long process, but one with a beautiful reward in the end, and only time will tell. If you want to see more of Ralphie’s story, follow their Instagram and TikTok pages.
Get the full story of this heartwarming rescue in the video below.
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