The Dogs Deserve Better rehab center in Smithfield, Virginia, helps dogs who were rescued from unthinkable situations overcome their troubled pasts. It’s not an easy job, but the payoff in the end is well worth it.
In the video below, they take us on an inside look into the very first step of rehab for a dog who had never even been touched by a human. For a dog who is so scared that he sits cowering in the corner trying to avoid all human contact, it’s a long process. But the staff knows exactly what they are doing.
Bernard was rescued from a hoarding situation and found a safe place at a local animal shelter. The only life he knew was being trapped in a small pen with lots of other dogs. He didn’t know how to act like a dog.
On the day this volunteer met Bernard, he sat in the corner of his kennel not wanting to be touched. So in order to get to him without further stressing him out, they removed the top to be able to pet him. But Bernard immediately jumped out of the crate and hid behind another one. He eventually made his way back to his original spot, and that’s where they spent the next 45 minutes.
The only goal for the day was for Bernard to feel love and to let him know that human touch was safe. The beginning stage of the recovery process can be witnessed below as it was caught on camera, and it’ll make you tear up.
