Traumatized rescue dogs can take a long time to warm to their new owners, but thanks to the love in her new home, Zoey put past abuse from men behind her and embraced the care of her new pet dad.
The floppy-eared Labrador-whippet mix showed affection for her owner in an adorable clip uploaded to Reddit’s r/MadeMeSmile group on Tuesday, November 28.
In the clip, Zoey looked at her owner, who goes by Howre-Ya-Now on Reddit, with a trusting look as they relaxed together in a living room.
Zoey’s seeming acceptance of her pet dog was obviously a delight for him as he broke out into a wide smile at the end of the video.
Howre-Ya-Now
While the clip showed companionship had been established, Howre-Ya-Now explained Zoey had been abused by men in Mexico before her rescue and was adopted from Oregon Dog Rescue, in Portland, by him and his wife in May 2021.
Zoey Slowly Adapts To New Family
“She was extremely wary of me and would run away any time I would enter a room she was in. I spent the first year basically pretending she was invisible and didn’t look at her or try to pet her,” the Reddit user told Newsweek.
“I spent a lot of time sitting on the floor letting her sniff around me to get used to me on her own time, and she slowly started becoming more and more confident around me, and as you can see in the video, we’ve grown a good connection with each other. Everyone always loves her ears and she gets comments about them everywhere we go.”
“It was really difficult for me because every family dog I’ve had growing up has instantly liked me, so when I finally got my own dog, it was difficult to not be able to have that instant connection,” the Reddit user said.
“But over almost two years, I was able to get her comfortable around me and it was worth all the hard work.”
While Zoey had trust issues with some people, she has no problem with other dogs, and the Reddit user and his wife are now actively considering getting her a “sister” in January.
Howre-Ya-Now
Pets In U.S. Animal Shelters
Each year, 6.3 million pets are surrendered to U.S. shelters, which is an average of 17,260 a day, according to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. The number of dogs and cats taken in by pet shelters hit 46,807 during January 2023, an increase of 1,744 compared with January 2022, the 24Pet “Shelter Watch Report” found.
Around 920,000 surrendered animals are euthanized every year. Shelters are striving to minimize euthanasia rates by promoting adoption campaigns, spaying and neutering programs, and behavior rehabilitation.
Do you have funny and adorable videos or pictures of your pet you want to share? Send them to [email protected] with some details about your best friend, and they could appear in our Pet of the Week lineup.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.