Liz and I fell in love with Roko in November of 2018. Roko fell in love with Liz. I knew I could make him love me too, so we went ahead with the adoption.
Having been in a shelter for so long, he immediately began to decompress, but not all the way. If Liz was around, Roko was the happiest boy in the world. But if it was just me, he was happily content. I tried everything, treats, cuddles, even favoritism… nothing helped.
After a few months I was about to give Up and just accept my place in his world.
Then one night, there were fireworks, and Liz wasn’t home. Roko jumped on the bed, got under the blankets and never left my side.
A few weeks later he ran away, he was actually running to Liz but when he saw she was using the lawn mowing machine of death, he bolted. I caught him and we walked home together. Both of us were near death from running in the heat, but he still came up and sat on me as if saying “Ok I get it, you both love me.”
This was 6 months after his adoption. It took every single day and all of these moments in those six months for him to understand that we were his forever.
There will still be hard days, but I think one year later… our family of 5 knows it will be the 5 of us forever.
Adopting a dog from a shelter doesn’t mean they can’t love or won’t love. It just means that sometimes, they may love differently.
It took Roko longer to love me and it was our family’s patience with his process that allowed him to become the perfect pup he is today.
– Lori, Roko’s Adopter
This holiday season, we’re celebrating rescue dogs and the people that love them. We’d be honored if you’d help us raise money on Giving Tuesday though our Look What Love Can Do campaign. The more money we are able to raise together, the more dogs we can save this holiday season and beyond!