“Within two hours of being at our house, I took that video.”
Chenille was found as a stray on the streets of Ohio and taken to a local shelter. She was super shy and nervous when she arrived, and unfortunately, her demeanor didn’t change much as the months went on.
“Some dogs just do not do well in a shelter environment,” LeeAnn Harden, dog intake coordinator for Planned Pethood, Inc., told The Dodo. “She would just walk around, tail tucked, ears back and a bit hunched.”
After two and a half months at the shelter, Chenille was pulled by Planned Pethood, Inc., and Harden stepped up to foster her. When she first got to her temporary home, she was just as shy as she’d been at the shelter — but while at the shelter she barely warmed up at all, in her foster home, Chenille’s personality came bursting through after only a few hours.
Harden has a 2-year-old daughter named Lila who loves to play with and be chased by her dogs at home. Chenille immediately picked up on this, and all of the sudden, the dog who walked around shy and scared was chasing a toddler around the room, having the time of her life.
Luckily, Harden was able to capture the adorable moment on video, documenting the moment Chenille experienced pure joy for the very first time.
“[This] is why fostering is so important, especially for dogs like Chenille,” Harden said. “Within two hours of being at our house, I took that video.”
Now, Chenille is completely comfortable with her foster family. She loves to play with the family’s dogs, snuggle with the humans on the couch and give kisses to anyone who wants them. She’s super gentle with Lila, and the pair continue to love playing together.
Chenille was super shut down in the shelter environment and just needed someone to give her a chance. Now that she’s thriving in her foster home, hopefully she’ll be able to find her forever home very soon.
