Sheba

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Sheba had come to me as a foster dog as I foster for our local animal shelter. But one look in her eyes I knew she wasn’t leaving my house. It was love at first sight and I had no idea the work this love would involve me in over the next several months. I adopted her before anyone else even saw her. She came from another county’s shelter who was trying to save her life and called a contact they had with our shelter and said if we didn’t take her she was to be put to sleep because she is part Rottweiler and they didn’t have a place to keep her. The story I received with her is that she and her owners' other dog chased their landlord and he ordered them both to be removed from the premises.

When I got this little dog about 6-8 months old and about 50 lbs. She was so scared of people she would roll over and wet herself when you reached down for her. She was not even house broken and it took us 4 months to trust her not to mess on the floor. Before that she would pooh on the floor maybe 3 times in one night plus pee on it too. With patience and love she is now the cleaned dog I have ever seen. She would also tear things up for a few more months but by the time she was 15 months old she was totally trust worthy in the house and doesn’t touch anything when we are out. She was so scared she would stick to me like glue and some times would even hold on to me with her paws so I wouldn’t leave her. She is now about 2 ½ years old and about 93 lbs.

The best part of this story is how she is with my other foster dogs. She is a hero with them and with the pups; she acts like a surrogate mother to them and will sleep beside them and protects them from any other dog. She will put her body between them and protect them with all she has. Whenever I get a young dog in that is not house broken she helps me train them and goes right outside with them even when she doesn’t have to and waits for them and shows them the way back to the door. She makes them feel at home and relaxed and gets them playing with her. She gets a pull toy and will stick it in their mouth until they take it and she teaches them how to play. If they get too rough she pokes them with her nose as if to say settle down now and starts over.

I can not believe how much easier she has made fostering dogs for me. She has helped dogs become more comfortable around other dogs and made them more adoptable and well adjusted. She has helped in saving a lot of dogs and puppies. I couldn’t have done half as much without her. Together we have fostered over 20 dogs and pups. She is my super dog, best friend and partner in rescue and rehoming abandoned dogs and trainer. She is my everything and I love her more every day. She is one of the smartest dogs I know. So I want everyone to consider a shelter dog the next time they are looking for a dog. You never know when you will find a dog as great as mine- a real diamond in the rough that has turned out to be priceless. I could have missed the messes, sleepless nights, walking in pooh or/and pee in the middle of the night, the torn up shoes and the list could go on but I would have also had to miss the LOVE.