Rescuing terrified & lonely pup Sherry

Ryan found Sherry fending for herself, living in the middle of an industrial area filled with big water tanks. Unfortunately this area was located just next to the highway, a place way to dangerous for such a small baby. We don’t know what had happened to her, whether she had been dumped or had lost her mum in a different way. But when we met her she was a terrified and lonely soul.

Generally speaking puppies would be happy to see humans, approaching everyone with a wagging tail, almost always eager to play. But when we found Sherry, she was too scared to move any closer to us than 3 meters. We could tell that she was desperate to try, especially because we came with food. She wouldn’t run away, but simply hide behind one of the massive water tanks, her small face with big ears peeking around the corner every minute, curious to see if her visitors were still there. Her tail was tucked, her big ears down and her whole body language was signalling us how fearful she was.

After over 1 hour we had to give up and made the decision to come back in the evening to bring a food trap. We weren’t feeling too confident in our attempt, as we knew Sherry very likely was used to eating fish and chicken leftovers from the restaurant nextdoor. We still decided to use our plant based dogfood with a hint of coconut oil and were thrilled when we found Sherry inside said trap just about a few hours later. Poor baby was trembling, growling and barking when we came to pick her up.

She moved into the volunteers house and decided to hide under a chair for the first hour. Over time she gained confidence and finally she allowed us to stroke her face that same evening, which she enjoyed with closed eyes and the cutest sigh. Sherry must have been desperate for company, love and affection. It was beautiful to see her transition from a scared, shy pup into a little ball of energy, constantly chasing Rusty (another puppy who slept in our house) and approaching the people she knew for attention. Finally she was able to act like the carefree puppy she should be.

Today it has been 2 months since Sherry joined Pete’s Mission. After moving in with the big dogs she soon became very attached to Ryan and is rarely leaving his side. To this day she’s still determined to choose the people she will allow to pick her up and cuddle her. She is a very special addition to the Pete’s Mission crew and we are hoping to find the perfect and safe home for her someday.