No matter how brave a dog is, a shelter can be a frightening place. Strange smells, little interaction with people and the sounds of other dogs barking or howling can make even the calmest dog a nervous wreck. Some dogs will ride it out okay, while others will pace or try to disappear in the corner.
Such was the case for poor Prince, a two-year-old Pit Bull who became a bundle of nerves after winding up at the Mohawk Hudson Humane Society in New York, The Dodo reports.
Prince cuddles up under a blanket. Screenshot by Inside Edition via YouTube video
Prince used to be someone’s dog but that person couldn’t take care of him any longer, so he wound up with the man’s girlfriend, but that was short-lived. One day as she was walking him, he slipped out of his leash and ran off. His whereabouts weren’t known until animal control picked him up and he wound up at the shelter in April.
And although the girlfriend promised to pick him up, she never did.
The Shelter Is Prince’s Home…For Now
The shelter life was a nerve-wracking life for Prince. Screenshot by Inside edition via Youtube video
Prince was not adjusting well to life at the shelter. Maybe this was due to being let down by his former owners, or maybe living in one was just too stressful for him, but whatever it was, the staff knew they needed to do something to help this poor dog. He was hiding in the corner of his kennel and was afraid of everything.
“He took a long time to warm up to us,” Nancy Haynes, the director of behavior and enrichment told The Dodo. “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.”
Poor dog.
After a few tries, the staff found something that made Prince feel safer, The Animal Rescue Site reports. It turns out that he loves to be tucked into his bed before the staff goes home for the night.
Prince gets tucked in. Screenshot by Inside Edition via YouTube video
And shelter employees do just that. Every night.
One person comes in with a comfy blanket and a favored toy and tucks Prince in before everyone goes home. Quite obviously that warm blanket is comforting and Prince has become a different dog since they began doing this.
“One of the staff members was just snuggling with him in the kennel … and he got up on the bed and a staff member just tucked a blanket around him, and kind of realized, ‘Oh, he really likes this. It makes him feel comfortable,” Haynes says.
Now, this sweet-natured dog looks forward to this every night.
Prince is all ready to get tucked in. Screenshot by Inside Edition via YouTube video
“He usually doesn’t get onto his bed until somebody does their rounds and approaches his kennel … but if you go into the kennel with him, he’ll go onto the bed to get tucked in.”
Is that cute or what?
And Prince loves to snuggle and give kisses. He loves nothing more than a good scratch. Now he just needs a good home. But that’s been problematic, Hayne says.
“He doesn’t show well in his kennel, so if somebody that he doesn’t know well approaches his kennel, he can bark and be reactive,” she says. “But since he’s been getting so much one-on-one attention, his reactivity has decreased tremendously.”
He’s doing so well that shelter staff hope, he’ll be in a new home soon. Haynes adds that Prince will do best in a home where there aren’t other dogs.
You can watch adorably cuddly prince in the video below. Good night, sweet Prince!
Featured image by Inside Edition via YouTube video
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