When Mulan first entered the local shelter, she didn’t trust a single human in the joint.
And how could she? Mulan had just one day left to leave the shelter or be euthanized for being an unruly dog without a home.
“She wasn’t letting anybody come near her. She was so emotionally shut down and not letting anybody toward her kennel. She had by the end of the day to leave the shelter or she would be put down because she wasn’t able to be safely handled. She was barking and growling,” animal lover Marcie Moore told The Dodo.
Moore saves cats and dogs from local shelters, fosters them, then helps to get them adopted.
Marcie refused to let Mulan die in that shelter knowing that all she really needed was some TLC.
“I made it very clear to her that I wasn’t giving up and that we were going to take things at her pace,” Moore said. “I was able to earn her trust after about two and a half hours of sitting at the shelter working with her.”
After that time, Mulan finally let Moore take her home, but it wasn’t without apprehension.
“She was just so nervous. I don’t think she had any idea what was going on. Getting her out of the car was the most difficult of the whole process,” said Moore.
Once inside, Mulan was still a little unsure of her surroundings and whether or not she was safe.
“When she was inside, I just don’t think she had any idea what was going on. She had never lived inside before so thresholds were really scary for her,” said Moore.
Mulan was so terrified that she tore up the entire room. When Moore returned she found the dog bed in shreds and a very scared-looking Mulan.
Moore didn’t scold Mulan. In fact, quite the opposite. She avoided looking at the mess and also avoided eye contact with Mulan so she would feel threatened.
She then spoke sweetly to Mulan until the dog felt calm.
“That was the first time she approached and she started licking my face for the first time,” said Moore. “That was a huge breakthrough for us after she destroyed the bedroom and realized she wasn’t going to be punished.”
Moore then brought out her own dogs, which helped Mulan realize that she could trust Moore since the other dogs did too.
Two weeks later passed, and Mulan became a completely different dog.
She let Moore touch her belly and feet and was able to fully trust her foster mom. Mulan ended up with nine separate families who were all interested in adopting her.
“Of course, I get attached to her but I know that she has a wonderful family that’s waiting for her that’s going to offer her all the love in the world and that she will have the best life she possibly can with this family,” said Moore.
You can learn more about Mulan and Moore’s story in the video below and can follow Moore’s stories about her rescues on TikTok and Instagram.
Check out a video about Mulan below!
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