Story of the month: Dobby

Dobby at our shelter with his favourite stick

Looking back at Dobby’s journey, two images spring to mind immediately. The first is the day he arrived at Footprints of Joy, our shelter in Cernavoda, Romania. A lady had just left him with us after saving him from a group of kids who were mistreating him. Dobby was curled up on the red bed we had assigned to him, trying to make himself as small as possible. He looked as though he wanted to be invisible, and his hunkered down position implied a silent “please don’t hurt me”. The second image we have is of the day he left our center to go to our partner in Switzerland, who will now help him find a new family to live with. Dobby was happily wagging his tail and greeting everyone with perked-up ears and bright eyes.

Needless to say, there were months of dedicated care separating these two distinct moments.

Dobby was traumatized

In cases like Dobby’s, we know that our work goes beyond simply providing medical care from a veterinary standpoint.

In fact, Dobby had no particular physical problems or diseases, and was not even malnourished, unlike many of the dogs we take care of every day.

But he was clearly traumatized.

Considering offering Dobby up for adoption straight away was not the right choice

Dobby in the arms of the woman who saved him

Once neutered (as required by the protocol for entry into our shelter) and vaccinated, we could have considered offering Dobby up for adoption straight away. We knew, hoever, that this would have been an unwise decision on our part, one that was more likely to cause him further trauma.

Dobby required a calm environment, time to regain his sense of safety, and patience to rebuild his trust in both himself and people around him. Had he been adopted but not received the right kind of skilled care, he could have ended up back in a shelter, where he may have been compelled to stay for the rest of his days.

For dogs who’ve experienced such trauma, their recovery requires a careful, structured approach to help them heal, express their potential, and then be united with the right family. Only in this way can a dog that once cowered on his bed be transformed to one that joyfully wags its tail at everyone on the day he leaves to join a family.

When Dobby was finally ready, he was the one to wave us a fond farewell

We took great care at the shelter to help Dobby adjust to his surroundings, teaching him how to wear a harness and walk on a leash. Thanks to our “Home from Home” initiative, we helped prepare him for the sounds and movements of a typical home environment, and gradually get used to the noises, movements, and dynamics he would discover in his adoptive home.

You can imagine the fear a traumatized dog might feel when hearing the clanging sound of a pan falling to the floor. We we take all the time we need to expose such cases to these day-to-day situations, so they learn to recognize them and know there’s nothing to fear.

Dobby a few months after we admitted him

When Dobby was finally ready, he was the one to wave us a fond farewell.

He has now arrived at Spab Bellinzona with our partners in Switzerland. They will go to work to find the most suitable family for him, conducting the important pre- and post-adoption checks that protect both the animals and the families adopting them. Together, we hope to write the final – and perhaps most important – chapter of his story.