No matter how much they seem broken, the truth is stray dogs are nothing but love-craving, home-seeking creatures whose real beauty lies underneath their raw appearance.
Once they overcome those behavioral and trust barriers, there’s a wonderful companion waiting to embark on exciting life adventures.
For River, every day was a struggle. This sweet boi was misunderstood and rejected due to his “aggressiveness” until a kind family from the Pacific Northwest decided to intervene – and completely change his life!
A Rough Start
Long before he settled in Corinne’s family, River was a stray living a hard life on the streets. He was beaten up by other dogs on a daily basis and in constant search of food and shelter.
Due to his past, he became severely reactive, which made his road to a forever home quite difficult. When he was first saved by Fur Bae Rescue, the organization matching stray dogs with families in the Pacific Northwest, River found a family to call his own.
Sadly, he was soon returned due to his reactiveness, and that’s when Corinne stepped up! It was really love at first sight when this sweet boi approached his new momma and her family.
He immediately ran up to them with a wagging tail and started playing, which meant only one thing – he was a keeper!
Transformative Journey
Despite all the hardship, adopting River into the family was nothing but a rewarding experience. He was constantly misunderstood in the past, as his reactiveness was often perceived as a tantrum. But, what he was truly seeking was safety.
With a new mom next to him, he was slowly decompressing and learning how to socialize, go on walks, hang out with other hoomans, and do all the things that he never had the chance to do. And, soon enough – he transformed into a brand-new dog!
“It kind of started out that it felt like I was his therapist and now it feels like he’s my therapy dog,” Corinne told Cuddle Buddies.
Within months, River became very comfortable in the new home, and instead of being a shy, reserved dog, he was now the happiest, most enthusiastic member of the family!
He constantly finds new ways of making his humans laugh, but his most recent was definitely a winner!
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River loves to do a wiggle dance whenever he approaches a stranger on his walks or when he’s about to have his meal. He literally wiggles his entire body and does the sweetest doggo dance, making everyone around fall in love with him!
“It’s usually a stranger or someone else that brings them on so I always get the view from behind. Maybe someday he’ll get waggles for me but for now I’ll continue enjoying his uncontainable happiness,” his mom wrote on Instagram.
With a lot of hard work and training, River now lives a happy life filled with endless adventures. He is the mom’s running buddy, goes on mountain hikes, travels, has long cuddle sessions with his family members, and enjoys every single moment around them.
“It was hard to see the beauty that was always there in the beginning but now I see him and will eternally love him. He is the dog I didn’t know I needed and I will spend the rest of his life being the human he needs,” Corinne wrote in an Instagram post.
Once a reactive dog with no one to take his side, today, River has a whole life ahead of him… and he couldn’t be happier!
