United Hope for Animals volunteer Mary met eight pound, four year old Pebbles while helping out at a Glamour Shot Day at Baldwin Park, and set the ball rolling for a new life for a deserving dog. She witnessed an unresponsive creature, seemingly petrified of any human attention. Upon grooming the seriously matted malti-poo, Mary discovered an indentation around her neck resembling a noose, which sadly has turned out to be a permanent mark of her past experience. When Mary offered to foster Pebbles until a permanent home could be found, United Hope for Animals set the ball in motion to rescue her from the shelter.
Watch Pebbles’ adoption video.
Here is Mary’s account of her first interactions with Pebbles:
“Once I was finished and took her outside to go through the photo and video process, she started looking very scared and overwhelmed. Her eyes are different in that much of the whites of her eyes show. Reminded me of how rabbits show the whites of their eyes when they’re frightened. All of these things are what drew me to her. There was just something very ‘sad’ about her. There was no question that I had to get her out of shelter and foster her.”
During the first week in her foster home, Pebbles began showing signs of illness by refusing to eat and becoming very lethargic. She was immediately hospitalized after being diagnosed with pneumonia. Fortuitously, this turn of events happened to provide the opportunity for Montrose Vet Hospital client Dr. Claire and her family to meet the charming, fluffy, little dog they had been dreaming of, and for Pebbles to meet the perfect family for her!
Happily, Pebbles found a forever home with people who love and adore her. They are already seeing improvement in her fearful behaviours. She arrived clearly terrified of men, but patience and compassion is slowly winning her over, and allowing her to have a relationship built on trust with every member of her new family.
Mary records a milestone for Pebbles:
“Whenever they would put Pebbles in the husband’s lap she would take her paw and press it against his chest and pull back to get her face as far away from him as possible, with those whites of her eyes showing. She doesn’t do that any more either.”
While she is still a shy little girl, showing evidence of ill treatment in the past, they are hopeful that she will continue to heal. Especially attached to Dr. Claire, she has the rare luck to be able to go to work with her favorite person. She also has been enjoying the freedom of racing around a spacious back yard and often bringing the enthusiastic playfulness indoors!
Mary recently visited her former foster pup and saw her settled and blossoming in her new home. Without the teamwork of a group of individuals who strive to save and improve the lives of unwanted and abandoned pets, Pebbles would have been another anonymous soul passing through the system. She has found hope through the heart of a foster mom, health through the care of medical professionals, and a lifetime of happiness through a family committed to nurture and protect her.
