This dog was scared of everyone and everything. But then, shelter staff found the key to his heart: tucking him into bed at night!
The Mohawk Hudson Humane Society in New York says Prince came to them five months ago after he slipped his leash and ran away. The shelter staff managed to get in touch with the person who was supposedly looking after him, and she originally said she’d pick up Prince and take him home with her again. But she never showed up, and Prince has remained at the shelter ever since.
Perhaps it was Prince’s unstable past that made him so skittish. Or maybe he was finding it hard to adjust to the shelter. The pup was terrified and curled up in the back of his kennel when he first arrived.
“He took a long time to warm up to us,” Nancy Haynes, director of behavior and enrichment at Mohawk Hudson Humane Society, told. “Even when you approached his kennel, he would sit in the back and cower and shake. You would usually find him curled up in a ball at the back of his kennel.”
Prince also got nervous when people approached his kennel. He would bark at them or cower.
The shelter staff wanted to help Prince feel more comfortable in the shelter, but they weren’t sure how. Eventually, Prince started to warm up to the staff, but he was still a bit fearful around them.
And then, one of the staff members found the key to Prince’s heart: he loves being tucked into bed at night! The one-on-one attention he’s been getting and his nightly routine are making him far calmer and revealing his true temperament.
“He doesn’t show well in his kennel, so if somebody that he doesn’t know approaches his kennel, he can bark and be reactive,” she said. “But since he’s been getting so much one-on-one attention, his reactivity has decreased tremendously.”
“This sweet 2-year-old loves toys and has very good manners. He knows to sit, down, and paw, and is always willing to learn more for treats,” they wrote. “Like many royals, he wants to be the king of his castle, so no other pets for him.”
Now that Prince is gaining confidence, the shelter staffers hope he’ll get his big break soon and find the perfect family. The best home for Prince would be one with no other dogs, Haynes said.
