If a dog spends the majority of his life living on the streets all alone, fighting for scraps in order to survive, it is highly likely that he will lose all trust in hoomans, and any attempt at saving them would be met with resistance.
That is exactly what a stray pup named Shania did.
Any time a rescuer tried to approach her, she would anxiously check them out before running away as fast as possible.
However, because she was heavily pregnant and was due to give birth at any moment, the rescuers knew that they had to get her out of the freezing weather as soon as possible.
One Pregnant Mama
When the rescuers heard that there was a record-breaking snowstorm coming in, they really started to get worried.
Luckily, somebody informed them that Shania had already given birth to her litter, and because of it, she was glued to her puppies, unable to run away. As this was the perfect opportunity to finally capture her, the rescuers made their way down to the location immediately and safely got her in their care.
“They finally ended up catching her. We got her settled in and that was the start of her journey with us,” Leesa told The Dodo.
As soon as Shania and her puppies arrived, they were given a head-to-tail checkup. All of the puppies were at a very healthy weight but this really did not come as a surprise since the rescuers noticed how attentive and loving Shania was to her puppies.
However, since she was feral, she had trouble trusting and interacting with people.
“She was very avoidant. We started hand-feeding her. We were just taking it slow. But she had such a lovely temperament. She never snapped at anybody. She was always just so sweet and patient,” she added.
The rescuers decided to allow her to settle in at her own pace before they started putting a leash around her neck. However, she didn’t really like it.
Whenever she felt it on her body, Shania would go into fight or flight mode, trying to break herself free.
Luckily, it didn’t take her too much time to realize that a leash would not hurt her, and from that point onward, she had no problems with it.
“We would take her into a store, and she would just prance along beside us, making sure she never put pressure on the leash,” Leesa stated.
A Happy Family
Having such a strong mom and being surrounded by loving hoomans, Shania’s puppies grew up big and beautiful.
Every single one of them managed to find loving forever homes, where they continued to be showered with love and adoration.
Shania remained with Leesa, who eventually brought her home and showed her what it was like to be a house dog.
There, she met Otis – the sweetest pup ever, who became her best friend in no time.
Shania simply adored spending time with Otis, who allowed her to truly come out of her shell and start enjoying her new life.
“Being with him and our other dogs, Banjo and Hades, allowed her to be more comfortable with us,” said Leesa.
Shania was the happiest girl ever. She wanted to be showered with affection at all times to the point where she would even jump up on the couch in order to cuddle with her hoomans.
However, she was especially happy when she found out that she was adopted!
“The most confident I have seen her was the first time we saw her in her adoptive home,” she added.
She was finally a part of a family!
Shania now spends her days living the life of every dog’s dreams. She spends time with her hoomans having fun playdates, relaxing walks, and cozy cuddles.
Being able to forget her past life and completely embrace her new one really made Shania shine.
