Sometimes life puts you in a very difficult situation where everything seems to be going in the wrong direction, but it depends on us to be the master of the sea. We all love pets, be it a dog or a cat or any other animal, we have our individual choices. Later, in life, you get the opportunity where you could actually hold a cute little pet in your arms. You make that small creature a part of your family and lives. You see your loving pet grow into something more beautiful and the unconditional love they give you back is nothing you can compare to. Even this woman was ready to have another member into her life but things took a very sharp turn and life became full of unexpected events. Let's see what happened when this woman asked the shelter to let her adopt a dog. But to her surprise, they just simply said no. What was the reason that made them refuse her request to adopt a dog? You'll find out soon...
The words which just hit her eardrums and the vibration of the sound could be heard in her mind and heart. They were tired from all the traveling which was several hours long. Even in the car, they believed that it would be an easy process where they would meet the shelter people followed by some paper works and at last they would be back on the road with a dog on the back seat of the car. But, it was they were thinking not the shelter people. Something happened.
When she met the shelter people, it was a different story entirely. There was no reason why they refused her request to adopt the dog. The exhaustion, frustration, and tiredness really made her angry at the shelter people's behavior. As her anger began to rise, she was determined that she wouldn't be going empty-handed after traveling such a long distance. But then she saw something that made her understand the reason why these shelter people were stopping her.
Jess Williams loved dogs and always wanted one in her life. But, sadly, she had to put her wish to have a dog aside for a few years. Jess was moving out of her house to complete her studies. She knew that the day she completed her degree, definitely, she would get a dog for sure. But as we said earlier, sometimes things don't happen the way we want them to happen. She was right there to fulfill her wish to have a dog but the shelter people told her the reason why she couldn't have this dog. The reason changed everything for her.
Jess moved to Brown University to complete her education which she knew was important then, but in her heart, she knew that one day after graduating from college, the first thing she would do is to adopt a dog. She even thought of having a dog in her college days but the college dorm didn't allow pets and she was again heartbroken. She knew she had to wait a little longer. But, finally, the day came.
Jess completed her graduation from Brown University. However, she was sad because her college days were now over and she had to move to the next step of her life. Her friends won't be there 24/7 to support or encourage her. Now, she has to walk on the path of his life all alone. On her graduation day, she was sad but happy too, because now she would be able to adopt a dog and there wouldn't be any problems. But little she know, there was another problem which would again shatter her heart. What was the reason the shelter people refused her request?
After graduating, where she left her best friends behind, all she had with her was Jared Coutou, whom she met in her college days. Soon, they started dating each other and slowly both of them fell for each other. The college was over but with time their love grew stronger than ever. Even Jared knew how much she loved dogs and even he was into dogs. They were made for each other. Then he decided something for both of them.
In August, Jared asked Jess to move in with him. She couldn't control her emotions as this was a very big step in both of their lives. Soon, they both moved to Sacramento, California. After living there for some time they decided to have a change in the scenery and it was then they moved to the West Coast which was closer to Jess' family. Her family lived in Los Angeles and she knew this would be perfect. But not everything stays the same...
Jess was excited to start her new life with Jared. She hoped that this new city would bring her all the happiness she desired. But things don't come that easily to us. When you live alone you have all the power to decide what is that you want or don't want. In this case, there were two people who came together to start one new life, obviously, there had to be some complications. A relationship is all about adjusting and compromising.
When you move to a new city, the first thing that we do is to find an apartment that could fit into our budget and that would have all the basic amenities. But, Jess was searching for an apartment that also allowed pets and that was the only factor that made the duo walk around the city where they could find the best place to start their new lives. After searching for a long time, they found one.
After searching several apartments, Jess and her boyfriend, Jared found the place which was complete in all sense. Plus the apartment allowed pets. It was just perfect for them. More than Jared it was Jess who was going crazy about the fact that this place could fulfill her one wish of which she craved for so long. She could even picture Jared and herself with a cute little dog beside them. But then Jared something to her that made her really sad.
Jess has already waited for a very long now just to complete one wish which was to have a dog in her life. It wasn't that big of a situation but still, every time she thought it was the perfect opportunity, something or the other came up and shattered her dream. She was excited by the thought that there wouldn't be anything that could stop her from having a dog. Although Jared loved dogs, he wasn't ready to have a dog at that moment of their lives. He wanted to settle in first and even asked Jess to wait until her birthday. Jess loved Jared and she agreed. But soon she realized that things were getting out of her hands.
You know what is the most frustrating thing in this world? It is one thing that we can't have even when we know it's just one step ahead. Every time Jess went to bed all she could think about was the dog. When she couldn't hold any longer she started browsing about the dogs up for adoption in different shelters near her. She knew there were still several months to go before she could have a dog but just to calm her down she browsed the shelters. But she stumbled upon one and wanted that at any cost.
When she thought that simple browsing would bring her peace and by the time her birthday would arrive she might find a dog that could be the best gift she could give to herself. But one day, she saw a picture of the cute little dog that changed everything for her. A simple picture of that lovely puppy swept away all her patience and she couldn't wait any longer. She wanted that particular little puppy, but then the shelter people told her something about the dog that changed everything.
On one of the websites, she saw a picture of a dog named Benji. He was a mixed breed, and according to the website's page, he was a stray dog and was brought to the shelter 10 days ago. When Benji was found he had a severe flea allergy which resulted in losing most of his body fur. But it was his face that melted Jess' heart. “I had never seen a sadder dog and knew we couldn't leave him there,” said Jess. Benji's sorrowful face made her heart cry and she decided that he would be the new member of the family. She can't take it anymore. But it was Jared who wasn't ready. But then...
Without saying anything Jess just showed Jared a picture of Benji. Though at first, Jared didn't agree with Jess, the face of this dog melted his heart. More than Benji's face it was the face of Jess who wanted to adopt this dog really bad. He could see that Jess was totally into this dog and eventually, he agreed to the idea of bringing Benji to his new home and family. But as we said earlier, not everything comes to us that easily.
The problem was that the location of the shelter was almost 400 miles away. The shelter was situated in Los Angeles. Jess was determined to have this dog into their lives and the distance didn't scare her as she was ready to go at any length to bring this dog. Both Jess and Jared loved traveling and seeing how resolute Jess was, Jared was ready to go with her. It was a 6-hour long drive, but when they reached the shelter they heard something surprising about the dog.
The couple reached Los Angeles after a 6-hour long drive. They found the shelter and reached there without delaying any further. They met the attendant of the shelter and inquired about the dog Benji they saw it on the shelter's website. They told the shelter people about their wish to adopt the dog. The shelter people were amazed to see that these people were for that specific dog. They called in the manager and then Jess showed him the picture of Benji. But what came out of the manager's mouth shocked the couple.
The manager was shocked to see that this couple had come this long just to adopt a dog which they saw only in the picture. The manager even suggested they adopt some other dog in the shelter rather than adopting Benji. Jess was really surprised to see the manager behaving like this. Jess kept asking about Benji and he kept ignoring what Jess had to say and started blabbering an entirely different story. Jess then asked firmly to the manager for the reason they were asking her not to adopt the dog for which she had come this far from home. The manager's reply shattered her heart.
The shelter then told Jess about Benjo who was according to them really aggressive. “He would snarl and snap at people as they walked by,” the manager told Jess. “The shelter also told us he wasn't friendly and refused to take us into a calm waiting area to get to know him because 'he wouldn't be a dog that would come over to us to be cuddly." But Jess became more determined after hearing the story of Benji.
“We knew that he had a high possibility of being euthanized and didn't want him to die,” said Jess. There was no way she and her boyfriend would turn back now. They needed to see the dog in person. Both of them had already made up their mind about Benji. This dog would be the new member of the family and nobody could change that fact. The shelter then had to oblige and finally, Benji was in his new home. But his new journey just begun...
As the shelter people said that Benji was an aggressive dog and he hadn't been that friendly towards the shelter people, Jess and Jared kept their distance from the dog in the start who was looking confused about the happenings. He was sitting in the back seat of that car looking outside and towards these two strangers of whom he had no idea who they were. Finally, they were home but things didn't get any easier.
The way he was looking at the outside world it was clear to Jess and Jared that Benji hadn't seen the world properly. The manager told them about his aggressive behavior and because of that reason they didn't try to touch Benji and let him be the way he wanted in the car. He kept staring out of the window and for one moment he even put his face outside the window but then Jared closed the window because he could have slipped from the window.
Despite the fact that Jess won't be able to love Benji the way she wants to, but still, she is still happy that at last her wish of having a pet is done. Jared could see the sense of satisfaction on her face which made him happy. He loved the way Jess smiled and that was the best thing in the world. But even then Jared had his doubts about the decision.
Jared wasn't sure about the dog and he kept thinking that they should have listened to the manager who he gave them the option to adopt some other dog. His doubts were genuine, being a human because we can't change the fact that just because he is an animal. What if his behavior didn't change even after some time? Because Jess was already attached to Benji Jared could tell how much it would hurt her if they had to send the dog back to the shelter.
Jess and her boyfriend were now back to their place. But now the problem was how they should take him inside the house as they weren't sure if Benji was comfortable. So they left the door open and to their surprise, Benji followed them inside the house. That was an amazing moment for both of them. Jess knew in her heart that things would soon be better with Benji.
When Jess thought that Benji would soon become a little friendly with both of them, things weren't looking good. Benji still kept his distance from both of them. There was even a moment when Benji barked at Jess. But even then, Jess didn't lose her hope. She was determined to change his behavior. Both Jess and Jared tried their best and were really patient with him. Good things don't come easily.
Before you judge a breed there is one thing you should note down about the dogs. The aggression is not because of the dog falling into a particular category but because of the factors that can make any dog aggressive by nature. People often say that the Pit Bull the Mastiff or the Rottweiler are the most aggressive breeds, but that is not true. Even a simple mixed breed living in a stray could be as aggressive as these breeds. It all depends upon the damage which obviously is greater when compared to the Pit Bull or the Rottweiler. There are certain signs that an owner should look for if they think that their dog is being aggressive.
You must have seen an aggressive Pit Bull and a disciplined calm Pit Bull. What makes them different? It's the way they were treated and taught. It depends on an owner who should, first of all, know the stakes that come with these heavy breeds. Unlike normal breeds like Chihuahua or many other breeds, the Pit Bull or the Rottweiler ask for a great disciplined atmosphere. An atmosphere not filled with the owner shouting at other people. Breeds like Pit Bull and Rottweiler always look for a leader of the pack which they see in you and if they think that the owner is not acting like one, they try to overpower you which seems like the dog being aggressive but eventually, he is just living up to its nature. So be the leader.
For dogs, a pack leader is one whom they can trust blindly. So, if you want your dog should listen to you and stop being aggressive then try to win his trust. Set some limitations and boundaries inside and outside the house. When your dog is seen as a pack leader his aggression will automatically stop because he won't fight for dominance because he now has a calm and assertive pack leader which is you.
So what is a red zone? Breeds like the Pit Bull, Mastiff, Rottweiler, or any other big dog breed there is one thing that you should keep in mind. Big dogs tend to become easily frustrated compared to other breeds. And in that frustration, they start getting aggressive. It is the owner's duty to make sure that the dogs don't fall into frustration and exhaustion. The dog should live in a peaceful and happy environment.
There are several dog exercises that can make your frustrated dog a calm and disciplined one. you can even consult some professional dog trainer if you think your dog requires one. If your dog has considered you as his pack leader then calming him down won't be much of an issue but still, there are certain precautions one should look after. Now coming back to the story of Benji. Did he choose Jess as his leader?
There is a cause for every reason. If a dog is reacting in some unusual way then there has to be some reason for that. In the case of Benji, it was his previous surroundings. As we told you he was stary and the shelter people rescued him from the streets so that he could be treated and could get proper attention and love. Jess found out that this poor little pooch had met some cruel humans back then when he used to live on the streets. He was beaten several times which made him aggressive towards the humans.
Benji has never felt love and all he saw in his life was the hate from the people around him. What do you expect from a dog who has always seen hate and has been beaten several times? In the end, a dog is an animal with limited mind power who only knows one thing survival at any cost. To keep themselves safe they have the habit of growling or biting the person in front of them even if they don't want to hurt the dog. But their brain can't process this and eventually end up hurting the humans which results in more hate towards the stray dogs.
Because of his past experiences with the humans, Benji kept his distance from the couple. Jess was more in love with this little pooch. They gave him all the love and space he wanted and waited patiently for the day when Benji would come to them evening waving his little tail and licking both of them. With each passing day, Benji realizes that these two beautiful humans are no danger. And then things started to change.
After three weeks their dog showed some great improvements in his behavior. “He loves to come up and lick our faces and play with his toys,” said Jess. “He is such a goofball now! He has crazy zoomies after he gets bathed. He will also start barking the second we get in the car as if to say, ‘We have to start moving! Let's go!" she added further. This little pooch found the perfect family and was now living in a place filled with love and warmth.