When a dog is taken to a shelter it can be a very traumatic experience. For the first little while they are there, their personality is often negatively affected by the stress of the new environment and all the changes. It takes time and care to bring them out of the shells they retreated into from trauma.
The Washington County Johnson City Animal Shelter was waiting for one of their dogs to come out of their shell – and it was taking a REALLY long time.
Roscoe is a brown and white dog who never smiled, wagged his tail, or showed any kind of joy or excitement. It was clear that he was not ok and didn’t respond to the volunteers for a very long time.
“The entire time he was here he was very timid, very reserved … it was like he didn’t have a personality, He wasn’t acting like a dog.” – Tammy Davis
In context, it all makes sense.
Roscoe had lived on the streets for most of his life and had learned what it meant to struggle. He didn’t trust people all that much and only saw people as a way to beg for food. After some time, someone called the shelter and told them about a stray dog who was running around, and eventually, Roscoe ended up with them.
“He didn’t want to be comforted by us, he didn’t want to be touched — it was like he was kind of just existing,” Davis said. “There was no emotion or excitement no matter what we did.”
They tried to earn his trust and were struggling until one thing finally worked!
The plan? To be honest and post about him on the internet to try and get him a home.
“We all cared about him and we were just trying to work with him and make him more comfortable,” Davis said. “Because of COVID, we use our social media more than we used to and we thought, ‘What the heck? Even though he’s not the most outgoing dog, and it may be hard to find him somewhere, we’re going to post him and we’re just going to be honest.’”
Incredibly, they received a reply back and it rocked their world.
They got a reply on Facebook of a man who claimed this was his lost dog from three years ago!
The shelter workers were skeptical, obviously. When the man sent photos he had of Roscoe from years ago that has specific markings, it shook them. The man came to see his long-lost dog and everyone watched in amazement.
Roscoe saw the man and started wagging his tail for the first time in six months!
The moment was incredibly touching and they could barely hold back their tears from the emotional moment. Watching the saddest dog on-site turn into a tail-wagging lover was a reminder of why what they do is really worth it.
Check out the reunion below!
Please SHARE this with your friends and family.
