I took home a scared shelter chihuahua. Here's what happened.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00 He didn't know how to interact with humans.
00:02 When I held him, he was like, "Wow, I never knew what being loved was like."
00:06 I'm Maddie, and this is Toothless' story for GeoBeats.
00:11 Toothless was rescued by the shelter I work with in Houston.
00:15 It's called the Houston Humane Society.
00:17 He had jumped out of the window of a trailer that was full of just trash.
00:21 There were 40 other dogs with him as well.
00:23 He seemed to be very feral and like he had never been handled before.
00:28 My coworker and I opened the kennel and we had a towel,
00:31 and we placed it on him and he just froze.
00:34 We discovered he wasn't really reacting out of aggression, it was more fear.
00:41 He was very confused because he's only known living in trash
00:44 and disheveled furniture for his whole life.
00:47 I am known at work for loving senior old crusty dogs,
00:50 and I wanted to foster him to give him a second chance.
00:54 I remember when it was time for me to take him home,
00:56 he was running from me and wouldn't really let me touch him.
01:00 I ended up getting gums a few times, but I didn't mind it.
01:03 The first night that I took Toothless home, I actually held him for a while,
01:07 and I could see in his face that he was kind of like,
01:10 "I like this, but I don't know if I'm supposed to like this."
01:12 Oh, yeah.
01:13 The next day, though, he was a completely different dog.
01:16 I brought him to work with me again,
01:17 and he was pawing at my legs because he wanted to be held.
01:21 Ooh!
01:21 And now we're inseparable.
01:29 We both just feel so loved by one another.
01:31 It's unlike any bond that I have ever had with a dog.
01:35 He gets super excited and gets the zoomies often.
01:38 Ooh!
01:45 He loves to play with toys, and he absolutely adores my other dog, Sunshine.
01:50 [laughs]
01:51 They are inseparable, and they have been since about a week into him being in our home.
01:56 Toothless is really, really clingy.
01:58 Whenever I bring him to work with me, he either wants to be held
02:01 or he wants to be laying right at my feet.
02:03 Whenever I put him down, he'll scratch at my leg and be like,
02:07 "Mom, why won't you hold me right now?"
02:08 I know.
02:10 He's very protective of me.
02:13 If I'm holding him and someone walks into the room and they get close to me,
02:17 as they get closer, he will growl and bark louder.
02:20 He does not like our shelter director because he was the one that caught him with a net.
02:24 And so anytime he comes into our office, he does growl.
02:27 But I don't think he's doing it out of aggression.
02:29 It's more like, "I don't know you, and my mom is pretty much the only human I trust."
02:33 Is that so nummy?
02:34 Yeah?
02:35 He has not tried to gum anybody since I've had him in my care.
02:39 But if he was pushed and taunted enough, he might gum you.
02:42 What are you doing?
02:43 Toothless is approximately 10 years old.
02:48 You cold?
02:49 He is always cold.
02:50 So sometimes he's in double layers.
02:52 He has no teeth.
02:53 He probably had to fight a lot for food and for resources.
02:56 It could also have to do with old age and not being cared for properly.
03:00 His eyes, we are not sure what happened with his eyes exactly.
03:04 They look kind of like boba.
03:05 And his little lip quivers when he's cold.
03:07 What are you doing, little monkey?
03:10 Often, people are so willing to overlook dogs like that.
03:15 I just think that they are so grateful to their adoptive families.
03:19 [kissing]
03:21 And it's going to be the best love that you will have ever known.
03:25 You stinky boy.
03:27 [kiss]
03:28 [music]
03:30 (gentle music)