About ten days ago my neighbors knocked on my door. I live near a dog park in the South Bronx, and it’s not unusual for dogs to be dumped there. A black lab puppy had been dumped in the park and was acting aggressively towards people who tried to get near him.
I grabbed my slip lead and my treat bag and headed over to find a very frightened young man. I knelt down and gently slipped the lead over his head. He would not take my treats for a long time; he was very suspicious of me and was especially focused on my movements and my hands. My guess is that someone’s hit him.
Slowly he warmed to me. First he allowed a few chin scratches, then some stroking. He started to show some interest in my treats. After fifteen minutes or so he rolled on his back for some scratches, then climbed into my lap and started licking my face over and over. We became fast friends.
I put him in my car and went down to Pets Alive Westchester, where Executive Director Erin Guilshan loved him just as much as I did, and he loved her.
Licorice is a very special puppy – less than a year old, an active and healthy young dog. We don’t believe he will do well in a kennel, so we are looking for a very special foster home for him. Someone, somewhere let him down. Someone didn’t understand that if you move slowly and get to know him, you’ll be friends for life and he will lavish you with his love. Instead of the love he needed and craves, someone treated him poorly and then abandoned him on the streets, leaving him to fend for himself. Right now he needs a place where he can decompress and where everyone is nice, sweet and kind to him and he gets careful, slow introductions to strangers. Licorice is just a frightened puppy, and my heart hurts for what’s been done to him – but I know it can be fixed. He is still a wonderful, affectionate dog and given the right environment, he will learn to trust again.
I believe in him. Can you help us help him? Please email me at john@petsalive.org – you’ll have my cell phone number; I will be on call for you 24 hours a day. I love Licorice. Please help us save him.
John Sibley
Board President and Chairman
Pets Alive