Neglected dog 'did not know how to bark'

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[Bayard]

1. What a sweet face!

Glad his person found him.

[JoseBalow]

2. What a sweet cutie!

He looks just like my dear sweet baby, who passed 6 years ago today. I still miss my good boy every day.

I really needed to see this today, thank you for posting it.

[MIButterfly]

4. Dear JoseBalow, I am so sorry for your loss

I know how hard it is to lose a beloved pet. He will stay in your heart forever.

With sympathy,
MIButterfly

[JoseBalow]

5. Thank you, MIButterfly

I am going through a very difficult personal loss this week also, so this video really touched me deeply.

I appreciate your kind and comforting thoughts.

[MIButterfly]

3. It absolutely breaks my heart that Chuck didn't know how, or was afraid, to bark or play with toys

I can't even imagine using a dog for breeding and then just tying them to a fence when they're not "useful" any more. It's disgusting. I hate people who do that kind of thing to dogs and I love people who rescue them and give them the good lives that they deserve. And oh my goodness, how cute was he when he was running?!

May Chuck and the beautiful person who saved him have a long, happy life together!

[thucythucy]

6. Years back my partner and I adopted a "Dixie dog."

He was a black lab who had been kept outdoors in a small, chain-linked enclosure for pretty much all his life until rescued by the humane society.

When we got him we thought he had a genetic issue, because his tail was so thin and flaccid. In fact, one of our little pet names for him at the beginning was "rat tail boy." I know this sounds cruel, but it was always said in a loving tone which is what dogs notice more than actual words.

Anyway, it turned out that it wasn't genetic at all. It was only because the poor boy had never had occasion to wag his tail. After a few months his tail looked just fine.

Our first night together he refused to come indoors, since he'd never been. Rather than force him I spent most of the night sitting with him on our back lawn, until he finally, slowly and cautiously, agreed to come in.

It was six to eight months before his underlying, true personality emerged. It turned out he was quite goofy and playful, and incredibly sweet and devoted to us both. But getting there took time and patience. A breakthrough came when, after much trial and error, we discovered the one treat for which he would brave nearly every perceived horror: partially defrosted frozen spinach raviolis. He would jump through flaming hoops for one of those! Not only were we able to get him used to climbing stairs or hopping into our van--he was initially too terrified to do either--but he also gained enough weight to resemble a more healthy dog.

About a year later we met up with the woman who had driven him up north -- which trip had been an ordeal for the both of them. When she finally realized this was the same dog, she burst into tears. She had been certain that he'd been scarred for life.

But then dogs are so resilient, and so responsive to consistent love.

All these years -- and another lab later -- I still miss him. It's so sad that canines have such short lives, which makes it all the more important that we treat them with the love they deserve.

[Figarosmom]

7. He's so sweet

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