Little Dog Effortlessly Overcomes Her Anxiety

Under the bed, to be precise. I’m in the bathtub. In the back of the closet. The 4-year-old rat terrier walks away without asking any questions.

Lauren Connelly of Special Needs Animal Rescue and Rehabilitation (SNARR) tells The Dodo, “She’s a hider.” “At first, she’s pretty bashful, especially around new people and locations.”

It’s difficult to blame Peaches for being tormented by her past. Her brief existence has been a series of tragedies, beginning two years ago when she was discovered in a hoarder’s home in Louisiana.

SNARR adopted her and placed her with a foster family in Crestone, Colorado. The horror appeared to be ended.

Peaches, on the other hand, appeared to attract misfortune. She just vanished one day while playing in the family’s backyard.

In the dead of winter, how can a 10-pound dog jump over a 7-foot-tall fence? Was she being pursued by a hawk?

“When she vanished, there was two feet of snow on the ground, but not a single trail on either side of the fence,” Connelly said.

People scoured around the forests surrounding the mountain village for days. A week later, a five-mile-away neighbor noticed a ruckus outdoors. When she opened the front door, a little, scared puppy bolted past her. Two coyotes were close behind her.

Peaches had returned. And then she went back to her old habits.

A dog will suffer as a result of living the life of a reluctant action-movie star.

Peaches had been rescued from that hoarder household for two years. She’s been kidnapped by what may have been a hawk and pursued by coyotes ever then. Her life, however, has been shaped by the affection of a foster family. And it’s aided her in making significant progress.

Peaches is growing into the confident dog she was always intended to be as her life in foster care grows more secure.

“Daycare has been beneficial,” adds Connelly. “She gets along well with other dogs. She’s also getting better at meeting new individuals.”

And she’d welcome the opportunity to meet new folks. Peaches must take the final and most important step in her search for a forever home.