Early in the morning a few months ago, the Benton-Franklin Humane Society staff arrived at the shelter to find a dog tied up to the back door. The dog was lying there next to the AC unit, looking lost and dejected.
“[S]he was just sitting quietly there, waiting for someone to come and get her,” Julie Saraceno, a volunteer at Benton-Franklin Humane Society, told The Dodo.
The humane society staff quickly untied the dog and brought her inside. Upon reviewing their security footage, they were heartbroken to learn that the pup had been abandoned in the middle of the night.
“[S]he was there for at least six hours,” Saraceno said.
The staff members were unfortunately unable to identify the man who left her outside the shelter, so they don’t know anything about her backstory. They estimated that she was about 2 years old and found that she didn’t have any health concerns other than being underweight.
Understandably, the dog, whom the staff named Tinkerbell, was anxious and overwhelmed for her first few days at the rescue. But it was clear that beneath Tinkerbell’s scared exterior, she was sweet and affectionate.
“[S]he was very timid and scared, but she was still very trusting and very loving,” Saraceno said. “She’s a very cuddly dog.”
Saraceno took her on a little ice cream excursion to give her a break from the shelter environment. At first, Tinkerbell had no idea what the ice cream cone was. But when Saraceno demonstrated by taking a lick of the ice cream herself, Tinkerbell figured out what to do.
@juliesaraceno2Repost of Tinkerbell’s day out, since I’m still sick and she’s still looking for a home.
“That’s when she was like, ‘Oh, this is actually quite delightful. This is not scary. I do like ice cream,’” Saraceno said.
As Tinkerbell gradually came out of her shell, the humane society’s staff and volunteers fell in love with her more and more. Unsurprisingly, it didn’t take long for an adopter to fall in love with her as well. The day Tinkerbell went home with her new mom, it was clear how happy and excited she was.
While Saraceno didn’t get to be there the day Tinkerbell got adopted, she was overjoyed to hear the news. Tinkerbell’s adopter sent Saraceno a photo of the pup on the way home, looking totally content and at peace.
“I [was], like, crying happy tears … It means so much to me,” Saraceno said.
Just a few months ago, Tinkerbell was heartbroken, abandoned and terrified. Now, her life is utterly unrecognizable and she’s finally safe, happy and loved.
