Prince the pit bull hasn’t had an easy life.
The two-year-old dog spent the first years of his life with one owner.
But then, his owner couldn’t take care of Prince anymore, and he went to live with his owner’s girlfriend. When they were out for a walk one day, Prince slipped out of his leash and ran away. Animal control picked him up and brought him to Mohawk Hudson Humane Society.
The shelter staff members were excited when they found contact details for Prince’s owner’s girlfriend—they thought they would get to reunite a lost dog with his loving owner. The girlfriend said she’d come and pick Prince up, but weeks and months passed and she never arrived.
It was clear that Prince’s former owners had abandoned him, and Prince seemed to realize it too. The poor dog was nervous around people, and he wouldn’t let the shelter staff approach him.
“He took a long time to warm up to us,” Nancy Haynes, director of behavior and enrichment at Mohawk Hudson Humane Society, told The Dodo. “Even when you approached his kennel, he would sit in the back and cower and shake. You would usually find him curled up in a ball at the back of his kennel.”
Prince also got nervous when people approached his kennel. He would bark at them or cower, and because of that, the shelter had trouble finding potential adopters for him.
The shelter staff wanted to help Prince feel more comfortable in the shelter, but they weren’t sure how. Eventually, Prince started to warm up to the staff, but he was still a bit fearful around them.
And then, one of the staff members found the key to Prince’s heart: he loves being tucked into bed at night!
The staff discovered this secret when one of the staff members was cuddling with Prince one night. Prince hopped on the bed, and the staff member put a blanket around him. Prince loved it!
“Snuggles are his absolute favorite thing,” Haynes said. “He lives for that.”
Now, the staff members take turns tucking Prince into bed each night. Prince’s tail always starts wagging when he sees the staff members putting the blanket on his bed.
“It’s just become a thing with him,” Haynes said. “He usually doesn’t get onto his bed until somebody does their rounds and approaches his kennel … but if you go into the kennel with him, he’ll go onto the bed to get tucked in.”
Now that he’s getting so much one-on-one time, Prince has become much less fearful around people. He doesn’t bark when people approach his kennel anymore, and he loves snuggling! The shelter staff members are hoping they’ll be able to find the perfect home for Prince soon.
“He’s relatively easy,” Haynes said. “He walks nicely on a leash. He’s smart. He’s very easily trained. He’s energetic, but not too high-energy. So he would make a really great companion for somebody.”
Prince had a tough past, but now, the sweet dog is ready for his forever home! If you’d like to see Prince’s adorable nighttime routine, check out the video below.
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