The joy we get from seeing happy dogs when we approach them keeps us going everyday, but the overwhelming elation we get from seeing a happy dog who has never encountered joy is unbelievable.
Chi Chi the staffy puppy was miserable. She was born the runt of the litter and tormented and bullied by her siblings, leaving her with scabs and minor wounds.
Most noticeably abnormal was Chi Chi’s front legs; she had Carpus Valgus Deformity which is an angular deformity (bowed legs) of the forelimb. It can be hereditary but is exacerbated by a poor diet. Her ligaments quite noticeably, couldn’t hold her weight.
It was repairable but this pup needed love. From the day she could open her eyes, she hadn’t had a good day.
The behaviour of Chi Chi was understandably erratic. When she entered foster care, she would run around her carer, forming a circle, perhaps instinctively wanted to play or investigate, but never coming in too close for any kind of contact or affection.
Our staff genuinely care for animals, in Chi Chi’s case, a staff member became the foster carer. They could see Chi Chi needed more than a warm place to sleep and a better diet.
And sure enough, literally within a week, she began eating, her other wounds and infections cleared up. Her body grew proportionally, and she could stand correctly.
Best of all, she started looking for love. Her mental state, which had only ever been based on fear, self-defence and misery, truly started to shine.
Who can truly tell, but our foster carer recalls vividly feeling more rewarded than usual; more rewarded than a regular, relatively-trouble-free fostering situation; more rewarded because this little girl, from the day she could see, had never encountered love.
Within a week of getting a taste of it, Chi Chi morphed into an endearing, excitable young puppy with a long life ahead of her.
The way she would look at her foster carer, with puppy eyes and an expression of pure joy, was even more special because we’d seen her without it.
She was adopted quickly, and her new owners were happy to continue to shower her with love and help her grow and develop to completely overcome her fearfulness and cautious behaviour.
We know she’s out there, happy and smiling.
On Thursday 5th December our amazing group of volunteers were awarded highly commended in the Volunteer Team of the Year category at the Volunteering ACT awards.
