A shelter dog who refused to even look at people has made a remarkable transformation and is now living a happy and healthy new life.
Clementine was found by animal control in southern California and weighed only 45 lbs, many believed she would not actually live to make a recovery. However, Chelsea Elizabeth Cossairt came across Clementine's photo on the shelter's website and thought she could help.
It was explained to Chelsea that Clementine would be a difficult dog to look after given her psychological issues, but this did not deter her.
Elizabeth said:
"The shelter told us that of the hundreds of applications they'd received for dogs in the previous few weeks, not one had been for Clementine. Clementine was absolutely terrified of people and wouldn't look anyone in the eyes. She shook all the time, hid behind furniture and sat facing the wall for months."
Despite her fears Clementine instantly got on well with Elizabeth's other dogs and this began to break down her issues. Little by little the dog got better, stopped shaking and started being relaxed around humans.
Elizabeth says:
"She loves to look deeply into our eyes while we pet her, and she's very attentive when we're talking to her. She's still wary of new people and sometimes even gets spooked by us if we move too quickly or come up behind her, but she's come so far."
"She lays at our feet when we work from home and loves belly rubs after finally exposing her belly to us for pets last month. "She' boops' everything in sight — we think it's her way of exploring and figuring out what things are. She's so puppy-like that sometimes we wonder if she got to be a puppy at all. She'll nudge your hand if you're not petting her or if you stop and she's not done yet. She's so sweet and such a gentle girl. We could tell very early on that she just wants to love and be loved in return. She's loyal and protective of us, and she follows us around everywhere."
[Based on reporting by: Positive Outlooks]
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