As Rocky Kanaka arrived at the shelter, he was struck with surprise when a worker pulled out what looked like an old bed; but to his astonishment, this little scared pup came charging right out. The dog’s name was Blossom and she had been rescued from a horrible hoarding situation along with 150 other dogs. Rock couldn’t help but feel compelled by her courageous story of survival.
Blossom was absolutely terrified of her new surroundings and taking her home did not help to ease her fears. She had become emotionally shut off, unsure how to behave as a dog, and trembled incessantly. No matter what we tried, the trembling continued for weeks after she arrived at our house until finally one day it stopped entirely.
Blossom was a timid, scared-of-everything mare who’d been through so much. Everything here was new to her, and it was frightening; the sensation of grass on her hooves, the sunshine, and making eye contact were but a few of the things that would send her scurrying for cover beneath the table where she’d sit for days. Instead of forcing Blossom to emerge from her hiding place, Rocky took away the table and created a tiny bedroom for her. And then something wonderful began to happen.
Blossom began to feel safe enough to allow hand-feeding, and she was eventually able to drink water from the bowl after seeing a foster sibling do so. This was significant progress. And after two months, she climbed onto the couch next to her foster father for the first time! She’d never demonstrated such behavior before. Then came the day when she ran around outside wagging her tail for the first time ever, at which point everything changed.
