When Valentine stepped into her first real home a year ago, the nervous dog was overwhelmed.
The Dalmatians/Pit Bull mix gave birth to puppies after she had been hoarding puppies when she was younger. She doesn’t know what comfort or safety means to her.
“When we first met her, she was very timid,” Valentine’s mom, Ashley Moses, told The Dodo. “She didn’t open up to us and we couldn’t get a sense of her personality in the meet and greet with her. You could tell she was broken and she looked sad.”
The dog is very gentle and patient with her kitten
Moses and her fiancé weren’t sure they could handle a dog like Valentine, but they knew they had to try.
“From the moment I saw her picture, I knew she was our dog. It sounds cheesy, but it was love at first sight,” Moses said. “After we adopted her, we all had doubts about adopting her. Could we handle a dog like that? What if she never opened up? We never rescued – what do we do with a frightened dog?”
Watching Valentine’s uncertain reaction to her new home breaks Moses’ heart. She wanted Valentine to know right away that she was safe, but the pup wasn’t ready to trust her after all he’d been through.
“We needed some convincing to get her in with us,” Moses said. “She was very scared, confused, and didn’t want to leave the foyer of our house.”
“She was terrified, but we lured her in with lots of treats,” she added. “She’s been very closed off, sad, and didn’t want to interact with us the whole night.”
The next morning, Moses expected the rescue pup to be removed, but instead, he was given a grateful lick. It was as if, overnight, Valentine’s personality completely changed.
Valentine realizes that she is at home.
“She’s 100 percent a different dog,” Moses said. “She was jumping, playing, kissing me, and just generally so excited…it was a crazy moment because we didn’t expect her to open up so soon!”
Over the next few months, Valentine’s parents helped her overcome past life fears — like going downstairs and going outside in the rain. Now Moses and her fiancé are overjoyed because they took a risk on Valentine and trusted their instincts.
“She’s the happiest girl, she loves playing with her toys, all things food, and most importantly, her family is her favorite thing,” Moses said. “She’s the most expressive and funniest dog ever. We’re so proud of all the progress she’s made…we can’t wait to love her forever.”
