Dog Rescued from Terrible Neglect Becomes Devoted Family Member
Janet first laid eyes on Tim when she went to make a donation at her local animal shelter and what she saw made her heart break. Janet shared Tim’s sad beginning and happy ending with DogHeirs.com as part of our Rescue Dogs are Family series and it goes as follows:
“Three years ago, I went to the local Animal Rescue Centre (RSPCA) to donate some blankets for the animals. In a conversation with the counter staff, they remembered my work in the Pet Shop Industry and the fact I was a Dog Handler. The manager asked me if I would be interested in adopting a very special dog as he had been one of the worst neglect cases the centre had ever seen. At that time, I mentioned I had only just lost my beloved dog and was not ready for another dog just yet.”
“Then the manager brought out a photo of ‘Tim’. My heart broke for this poor emancipated dog, in an instant I knew he was mine. Well that was one of the luckiest days of my life. Tim is now my best friend, devoted playmate to my 2 grandchildren and friend to everyone who walks through my gate.”
“His capacity to love is amazing, especially when you take in to consideration his sad start to life. He now knows all the basic commands but with a twist. I tell him it is a beautiful day today, he knows it means he has to go outside of the house. If I say “dinner time” and I am cooking in the kitchen, Tim knows it means he is not allowed in the kitchen. If we are eating and I say “dinner time” he knows he must sit on his bed and not come anywhere near we are eating.
“Go look outside” means go check around the fences and the front gate. “Bedtime” means exactly that, he needs to stay on his bed, bar his guard dog duties if he hears a noise. The local kids love to hide his dog treats around my 2 acre property and then call out to Tim ” Hide & Seek”. He finds them all in no time at all. He is also a great team member playing soccer, loves dress ups with my granddaughters.”
“At the moment he is in training learning to stop, drop & crawl to the nearest doorway when I give him the command “Fire”. This will be part of a fire safety training at local schools when Tim visits them.
Tim is loved by all that meet him, even children terrified by dogs are soon won over by my gentle giant. So now you know why it was my lucky day when I decided to add Tim to my life!”
“Tim’s sad beginning, happy ending!” was originally submitted by Janet to DogHeirs.com in 2013. If you have a dog you rescued and you would like to share your story, please email us your story and pictures to team (at) dogheirs (dot) com with the subject line “Rescue Dogs are Family.”
