The Story of Crosby- Ryan McEllen

    Last November, my sister Madelyn called my family from college and told us that she fostered a dog for the day. We all told her that it was a bad idea because we know that she gets very attached to animals. The dog she fostered was named Sly, and he was not her first choice. At first, she wanted to foster a cute, little brown lab puppy, but then she asked the shelter owner if any of the dogs needed the care more than the lab. Madelyn was directed to Sly, who was a scruffy, skinny, malnourished puppy. He was abandoned on the streets of Columbia, South Carolina where my sister lived, and lived a very troubling first six months of life. This traumatizing experience caused him to be frightened easily and nervous all the time.

    Madelyn took the puppy back to her apartment, which was the first time he had ever been inside of a house. He couldn't digest real dog food at first and instead had to eat rice. He also was recovering from mange and didn't have a lot of hair. After seeing how sweet the puppy was and how well he got along with her cat, Madelyn decided to foster the dog for longer than just one day. After about three weeks of fostering the puppy, she called my mom and said she wanted to adopt him and bring him home for Thanksgiving. She knew in her heart that she couldn't put him back into a rescue shelter after all he had been through.

    When she officially adopted him, Madelyn renamed him Crosby. After about a month of caring for him, he finally became more comfortable around her. However, he was still extremely anxious in other areas of his life. Crosby hated going for walks where cars and strangers constantly surrounded him. He became so scared of walking on the street that he would freeze in place and shake. This forced Madelyn to carry Crosby all the way back to her apartment whenever he would get spooked. Crosby also became very protective of Madelyn and was scared of anyone new that came into her apartment. He barked and growled at people, especially men. Madelyn found out that this was because he had been abused by homeless men when he was on the streets.

     Madelyn came back home from college for winter break and brought Crosby with her. At first, he was terrified of my mom, my sister, and I, but after some time he began to warm up to my sister and mom. However, even though he warmed up to the rest of my family, he was still scared of me. Because I am the only male in the house, he constantly barked at me and ran when I would go anywhere near him. If he was in a room and I entered, he would stand up and prevent me from entering. It got to the point where he was isolating me from the rest of the family, making me scared to enter rooms where everyone was.

    This occurred for weeks, and the only thing I could do was ignore him or tell him "no bark". Then, I started to carry treats on me so when he didn't bark I could reward him. This took a lot of time and was very frustrating. But slowly, day by day, Crosby became more active and playful, resembling a puppy instead of a scared animal. He wouldn't bark as much when I entered a room, and little by little allowed me to pet him if he was on the couch. His fear began to wash away and he truly began to think of our house as his home. 

    The puppy I was originally scared of and always frustrated with transformed into a cute and very sweet dog. Now, six months after being rescued by my sister, Crosby is one of the happiest puppies I know. He no longer barks at me or runs away. Now, he loves me and constantly tries to find me to play with him. Every day, he comes to me to pet him and licks my hands. I was originally the person he feared the most, but now he is comfortable with me and thinks of me as a companion.

             

     A big reason why Crosby's attitude and mood shifted was due to his health, which got a lot better with time. Instead of a scruffy coat, he now has soft fur. His ribs are no longer visible and he can finally eat real dog food. And, above all, his anxiety has finally disappeared because he now realizes that he is safe and cared for. He was a challenging pet to have at first, and a pain at many times, but his story just shows how patience is the key to many things in life. Most good things take time and patience is essential in finding the positive side of a situation. I love Crosby and couldn't imagine not having him in my life as an amazing pet and companion.