not technically related but i was walking my dog earlier this week in norwich and we headed down a long alleyway where we immediately bumped into a young man with a small yorkshire terrier. we got chatting and i found out that she was a recuse dog and had only been with him a few days!
i commented that she seemed very contented as her tail was wagging and she was having fun with my dog. 'you must have done a good job with her' i said, when he looked straight at me, eyes burning into mine and stated that she'd been locked in a flat - vets felt she hadn't been fed for weeks. she was a mess, on her last legs when this guy, who just happened to go and investigate the property as part of his job found the poor girl. he immediately took her to the vets, paid to have her operated on, and basically just prayed that she would make a recovery and when she finally got the all clear he took her in. he said that she'd really struggled over the first few days to adapt and would cry and hide behind the furniture. she hadn't eaten a thing and he and his girlfriend were extremely concerned that she was too far gone. they had discussed that morning whether this was not going to work.
UNTIL, he walked her down that alley way that morning - the first time he'd ever managed to get her to walk away from his house - and was stopped by about 8 people with their dogs; they'd all stopped to chat, they'd all made a fuss of his terrier, she'd even taken treats from most of the owners... all of a sudden she perked up and by the time i came on the scene she was a different dog!
all it took was a little bit of love and attention from people who took two minutes out of their day to make a fuss of a small dog. he walked away looking tearful. i walked away very happy