Love and trust are two of the most important factors for a happy and fulfilled life. Sometimes, we can’t even function without them and we withdraw into ourselves and run away from the world.
Dogs are creatures that feel this especially, and if their best human friend lets them down, their heart can be completely broken.
However, just a little affection can sometimes work wonders, and put that broken heart back together and bring the timid being back on the path to a happy life.
Wandering The Beach All Alone
One day, Jessie Goetze was scrolling through Facebook just to see a post of a dog in a carpark, looking lost.
She didn’t pay too much attention to it until the next day, when she was driving back to her home and saw a dog walking on the beach in the rain. After observing him for some time, she realized that it was the same dog from the Facebook picture.
She immediately tied a yoga strap and a belt together in the hopes of leashing him. Unfortunately, it didn’t work because he bolted. That’s when she realized that this dog was very traumatized by something… even terrified.
Everything Seemed Hopeless
Jessie didn’t give up, but visited on low tide later that day and found him standing in the water this time. He was looking out to sea, and in her eyes, he seemed so sad.
This prompted her to approach him, but as soon as he saw her, he immediately ran away into the bushes.
In the following days, she was not lucky at all, considering that she only saw his tracks that led from the bushes to the sea, and vice-versa.
Jessie had taken a picture of him earlier, so she decided to share it on her FB profile. A lot of people now knew about this poor beach pup since the news was spreading through various media.
The team of amazing people organized and kept looking, dropping food, water, and blankets, checking for tracks, taking their dogs down there, and setting a trap, but all in vain. They couldn’t find him.
Jessie didn’t want to give up at all costs. Over one weekend, she checked some neighboring beaches, and the next week, she and her daughter spent the morning at the same place on the beach where Jessie saw him for the first time.
This time, persistence paid off. After searching for so long, they saw the tracks. Also, the food was being taken from the place where she left it for him.
But, Jessie was still wondering if that was really him. That’s why she decided to place the camera in that place, so that she would know one-hundred percent.
Yes, that was their beach dog on the camera, and he was stealing the clothes Jessie left him, as she was trying to get him used to her scent.
Finally Gaining His Trust
Jessie left him food for several days in a row and the camera would always show him coming to eat it about 10 minutes after she left. This meant that this pup hadn’t gained the necessary trust yet.
There was a whole team of people who were giving her pieces of advice on how to act in front of the dog in order to regain his trust.
“It was decided that I would spend a day visiting multiple times and hopefully build up trust,” Jessie said.
That day, Jessie decided that she would not give up, even if she had to be there with him until it got dark.
She had left food for him several times, and that day, he would come right back to get it as soon as Jessie was out of sight. It was a visible improvement and the right time to take it to the next level.
According to the instructions she was given, she turned her body away from him and looked the other way. She pretended to eat delicious food, drop it, then search for it.
When she saw him, she threw some food his way. It worked! He came the closest to her since she first saw him.
As she was sure that she had gained his trust, Jessie was also able to put the leash around his neck. Finally, this lost and abandoned dog was heading to safety.
On The Road To A Happy Life
“He just seemed so happy to be around the people again,” Jessie said for The Dodo upon the arrival at his new home.
After everything “Ocean”, as she named him, had been through, this dog still trusted people. However, Jessie realized that he knew nothing about being a real dog. He didn’t understand commands at all.
Just as she didn’t give up on saving him from being alone on the beach, Jessie didn’t want to give up on teaching him everything that a dog needs to know.
Within the first week, Ocean had learned to sit, stay, go down, and roll over. He was a quick learner and she was so proud of him. This sweet beach dog became part of the family very fast.
Unfortunately, because of the housing crisis, Jessie and her family had to move to a small apartment. She thought Ocean deserved a much better place to live, so it was time to say “goodbye”.
Not long after that, Jessie announced on her FB profile that Ocean, despite the strict criteria she set, got his new mom and dad.
Although she was literally broken by this sudden parting, Jessie was also very proud and happy when she remembered that from being a sad, abandoned dog on the beach, Ocean became a Pretty Beach Dog with a new, loving home.
