Dog born in desert reacts to snow
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00:00 He was a street dog born on a construction site in Qatar in the desert and was beat up pretty bad by a pack of
00:06 dogs. They kind of ripped part of his ear and we think they broke his tail too.
00:09 Someone found him and brought him into the shelter and they got him medical help and then he was adopted by a family in Canada.
00:16 And it was not a good fit. So they gave him up essentially.
00:19 We are in the US and we went over and met him in Canada and adopted him and brought him back.
00:25 The first week was relatively easy, but as he settled in more and more we started to see a lot more fear.
00:31 Okay, bud. Let's go.
00:32 He was afraid of doorways, afraid of getting in the car, a lot of fear of other dogs, understandably.
00:37 He was very afraid of anyone in his space.
00:41 It's taken about a year of a lot of work, but we made huge progress. He is my running buddy.
00:50 He comes just about anywhere he can with me.
00:52 He can run 20 miles, no problem.
01:00 We're in the mountains and he loves the snow in the mountains.
01:05 I come from a background with some abuse and we get each other. It's just quiet understanding.
01:13 Our bond is very close. When you try to understand their fears, you can't help but love them and help them through it.
01:19 My husband had a harder time bonding with them. I would say a few months with my husband.
01:23 He likes to be chased and run around, but he's not really into toys.
01:31 He's on a low dose of Prozac.
01:37 Which has helped a lot with him just being able to relax and feel at ease. He had a hard time even taking naps, just that street dog mindset.
01:44 But now he relaxes and falls asleep. He's very much an observer. So he'll watch you walk around in the house. He is part cat. I'm pretty sure.
01:51 He's got that independence. He's still afraid of dogs to a point, but he can walk with them. He's getting more friends now, dog friends.
01:58 There we go. We got him.
02:03 Genetic tested and they call them village dogs. So they kind of consider that their breed of these dogs that existed before the traditional kind of modern day breeds.
02:13 River is very expressive. He gets a little jealous of the cat. You definitely know what he's thinking from his facial expressions.
02:20 It's one of the more fulfilling things that I've done is to see how much fear he was filled with.
02:27 And now to know he trusts me, he looks at me more for reassurance.
02:31 It's so neat to watch that journey and progress. Even though it was difficult along the way. I didn't know we would get here, but now it's pretty amazing.
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