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When Susan Bailey returned home from getting some supplies for Idgie, the dog she had just adopted from the Best Friends Lifesaving Center in Atlanta, she found Idgie and her other dog (Ann Perkins) playing together and having the time of their lives.

It was a moment of relief for Susan, and an extraordinary one for Ann who, up until Idgie arrived, would only come out of her crate when Susan was sleeping. Susan had adopted Ann from the center a few weeks prior to adopting Idgie, and after watching Ann hide in fear most hours of the day, she decided that what Ann really needed was a canine friend.

It turned out to be a brilliant idea, because Idgie helped Ann let go of her fear of people and the world around her faster than any human ever could.

Help for apprehensive dogs

Ann’s extreme shyness wasn’t a surprise to Susan, who had spent months visiting Ann at the center before adopting her. She was also well aware of Ann’s history — that she was hungry and scared when she was brought to the center along with three other dogs found living on the streets near downtown Atlanta.

Ann’s three fellow canine friends, also named after characters from the television show Parks & Recreation, weren’t faring much better. Leslie Knope, Tom Haverford and Ron Swanson are all living great lives outside of the center now, back then they did not trust people or other dogs. The Parks & Recreation crew wasn’t alone for long, because they were soon joined by some dogs rescued after a fire broke out in an Atlanta home, where firefighters found around 90 dogs living in crowded conditions.

Many of those dogs were brought to LifeLine Animal Project, a Best Friends Network partner organization that manages animal control in Fulton County. Several rescue groups in the region stepped up to help, and Best Friends took in some of them at the center, including a shy and scared dog named Idgie.

Training timid dogs to be less fearful

Both the Parks & Recreation dogs and the dogs rescued from the fire needed help to gain the confidence to live in a home, and it was a long process. The staff helped Ann through hand-targeting training, which is particularly beneficial for extremely shy and fearful dogs.

For example, each time Ann touched someone with her nose or paw she was rewarded with a treat. As she started to understand that outstretched hands are not a threat, she began to let her guard down around staff and potential adopters.

One of those potential adopters was Susan, who had just moved to Atlanta. She thought adopting a dog could help her feel more at home in her new city, and so she stopped by center, located just a few miles from her home. Susan was drawn to Ann right away. “I just fell in love with her,” she says. “She has such a beautiful, sweet face.”

When she learned about Ann’s past and how far she’d come to feel more confident and trusting of people, Susan felt an even deeper connection to her. But she also wanted to give Ann time to get to know her. So, she began coming to the center almost daily to visit Ann. Then, after a couple months, she decided it was time to make it official and adopt her. “How could you not want to adopt a dog named Ann Perkins?” says Susan.

How to calm a nervous dog

Ann wasn’t the only dog capturing Susan’s heart during those weeks at the center. Whenever she came to see Ann, she’d also spend time with Idgie. She loved seeing how far Idgie had come from when she first met her.

“At first she would often stay tucked in a ball as far away from anyone as she could be,” explains Kirsty Houston, center adoption specialist. “If a person approached her, she would shake with fear. She would cuddle up with other dogs, but avoid people as much as she could.”

To help socialize the nervous dog, the team began feeding her by hand. With time, Idgie became more willing to allow touch and affection from people. Walks followed, and as she gained confidence, so did car rides.

Idgie was finally ready to find the loving family she deserved, and Susan knew there was a home out there for the young dog — maybe even hers.

Helping a dog adjust to a new environment

After Susan adopted Ann, she thought she might adopt Idgie, too. But first, she needed to help Ann adjust to her new surroundings and she knew it wouldn’t be easy.

After a couple of weeks, Ann was still too anxious to come out when Susan was around. “She’d come out and eat her dinner and then go back to her crate,” says Susan. “She was staying in her crate so much that I worried about her.”

What Ann needed, Susan finally decided, was her very own Leslie Knope. After all, when you have a friend by your side who really understands you, the world becomes a much less scary place.

From introverted dogs to gleeful playmates

Susan returned to adopt Idgie, happy to be bringing her home and also hoping that she could be the friend Ann really needed. “I knew both their personalities,” says Susan. “So I thought: Let’s give it a shot.”

While Idgie and Ann never shared a room at the center and were never in the same play groups, they shared a similar history and had overcome similar challenges. Susan thought they’d be a good match.

When she brought Idgie home, Ann came out of her crate and sniffed her as if she recognized her. Then Ann settled back in her crate while Idgie made herself at home. “She settled in so well,” says Susan. “She loves being a house dog.”

In fact, things went so well that first day with Idgie in the house that Susan decided to leave them alone together (with the door to Ann’s crate open) while she went to the store. That’s when she returned to find them play-fighting so gleefully that they didn’t even notice Susan had returned.

Today Ann and Idgie not only play together, but they sleep together, too. And although Ann is still a little too nervous to go on walks, she’ll stand on the patio and watch Idgie take walks with Susan, as if she’s trying to muster up the courage to do it, too.

The rewards of helping apprehensive dogs

Idgie and Ann’s life has certainly changed for the better, but they’ve changed their adopter’s life, too. In fact, Susan says that adopting Idgie and Ann has been one of the greatest decisions she’s ever made; however, she does have a word of advice for others who are thinking of adopting dogs as apprehensive as Idgie and Ann.

“You’ve got to have patience, and lots of it,” says Susan. “But Ann and Idgie have brought joy and love and a feeling of family into my home. I have these wonderful, innocent beings who, more than most dogs, need extra love and care. All they want in the world is to feel safe and loved.”

Links:

• Best Friends Animal Society website