Happy Gotcha Day, Levi!

Hi everyone! Today is Levi’s gotcha day! A year ago today I adopted him from a shelter. When I brought him home, he was a timid six month old puppy. He didn’t seem to know anything about the world and he had no confidence in himself. He was wary of strangers, hesitant with other dogs, and basically afraid of anything that could surprise him. It was clear his previous owners hadn’t socialized him properly and I very quickly realized I had a reactive dog. I wasn’t sure if it was something I could handle, but even after only four days I knew I couldn’t give up on him. I couldn’t bear to think of what could happen to him if I returned him to the shelter. With that, I began to learn everything I could about dog reactivity and fear aggression. I enlisted the help of multiple trainers and slowly but surely began to build his confidence. Helping him grow into a happy, confident dog has been so difficult and yet so rewarding. Levi and I still have a long way to go but I couldn’t be prouder of the progress we’ve made. We’ve learned so much together and he’s helped me realize how passionate I truly am about helping dogs in need. Levi’s not perfect by any means and he may not be the dog I thought I was getting but he’s the dog I needed. Happy gotcha day to the best little guy.