Rescue Tails / Lele’s Biggest Smile

-By Cathy Baier, Animal Behavior Program Manager

You may wonder how a dog with so many stellar qualities and an all-time FKSPCA staff-favorite can also be so challenging at times that it takes her over two years to find her perfect home! That was Lele, who right now is at home, probably relaxing on the couch with her now biggest fan and loving human, Chris!

Lele came to the shelter when her previous person got deployed overseas by the military and wasn’t able to take her. One of our staff members knew Lele and had experience with her at a previous job. We were told that Lele was not an easy girl to manage, especially in an environment with other dogs, which we quickly learned. She also was incredibly energetic and powerful. We’re talking tri-athalon athlete here! She also appeared to have a pretty strong prey drive and her list of “critters-of- interest” was not a short one. Walking her demanded full attention and some skill and strength. She was not a dog for everyone, especially in a town where activity and sensory input is constant. Sensory overload is a real thing for dogs like it is for us and can definitely affect behavior in a negative way.

Luckily, Lele was great with humans and always seemed to have a big smile on her face around people. That helped generate some interest in her and she did have some applications during her stay with us. But most lived in complexes with lots of dogs, had cats or other dogs in the home, or were looking for a less challenging more dog-friendly dog who could cope better with the Key West lifestyle. Since our job is to set dogs and adopters up for success as best we can, we felt we needed to be selective in where Lele went. She not only needed the right person, she needed the right environment!

Time passed and Lele remained. Maintaining a dog’s mental and emotional well-being in a shelter setting can be challenging. Resilience is the ability to withstand adversity and bounce back from difficult life events. Fortunately, Lele had enough innate resilience to cope with shelter life better than some dogs do. Enrichment, positive reward-based interactions with her, and lots of long-leash decompressing walks in a quiet environment  helped support her and maintain that resilience. But the shelter isn’t a home. Lele still needed one where she could thrive and have a good chance of success.

When we first met Chris, we were immediately impressed by both his past experience with a “reactive dog” who required late night walks to avoid other dogs, his kind attitude, and his realistic attitude about the challenges of life with dogs. During a meet with Lele, they hit if off really well. The clincher in our decision that he was the man for Lele was where he lived! His house was totally fenced and secure,  he had no other animals, and Lele would have space to explore and access to safe off-leash time. A perfect situation!

We have no time limit for our animals as they wait for new homes. Lele spent an amazing 802 days with us, and never stopped smiling whenever she saw us.  But the smile she showed us as she left the shelter that day was her biggest smile ever! Lele has gone on to live her best life. It sounds like she loves her yard, she loves her couch, but most of all, she loves her person and that’s what it’s all about at the Florida Keys SPCA!

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