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I remember Raven when she was a pup, a bright young thing with a spring in her step. She's been returned by her owner now almost five years later. I have her outside and she seems diminished. She is fearful of the noise and the people. She doesn't want to walk. She looks at me to bring her back inside.

She's not a small dog but I carry her to a spot which is a little less trafficked where I can take some photos. She's not doing too badly. She just doesn't seem familiar with the environment. She doesn't seem familiar with being outside anymore.

On the way back, we pass by another TAS resident, an overweight, unkempt Cocker Spaniel. They give each other a sniff and for the first time, I see Raven wag her tail and then she twirls and goes into a play pose and jumps and twirls again. Then the Cocker moves on and the curtains fall and Raven is on her own again. I take her inside.

I spend a few minutes with her while chatting with others who pass by. She climbs onto the couch, snuggles against the armrest, lays her head down.





Raven has been transferred to the Toronto Humane Society.



7 Comments to “Raven - Sharpei”

  1. deva says:

    So sad. I hope someone will love her forever - soon.

  2. Awe :( she really looks broken. I hope she gets a wonderful home. Very sad :( ugh

  3. Anonymous says:

    She's beautiful. Poor little lady, so sad. I hope she finds her forever home

  4. wolfnmore says:

    hmmm the poor gal....she has something going on with her left foreleg.......sweet little girl X
    very well written!

  5. Bev McMullan-Kungl says:

    At first I thought she might have been abused. What has she gone through in the 5 years that has taken away her spark? She is definitely defeated. My heart aches for her.

  6. Anonymous says:

    so sweet, so sad, please someone save her and make her feel safe again

  7. So sad to look back at your earlier post about Raven! She has the saddest eyes.....I wonder what her life has been like? Maybe her best days are yet to come....let's hope someone sees her and falls in love!

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A request

The reason for this blog is to help get specific dogs adopted from TAS but equally important is to try to normalize the idea of shelter dogs being just as good and just as desirable as any other dogs including those which are regularly merchandised by backyard breeders, puppy millers and those few remaining pet store owners who still feel a need to sell live animals. The single greatest stigma shelter animals still face is the belief that shelter animals are substandard animals. Anyone who has had enough experience with shelter animals knows this is untrue but the general public hasn't had the same experiences you've had. They see a nice dog photo in a glossy magazine and too many of them would never think of associating that dog with a dog from a shelter. After all, no one abandons perfectly good dogs, right? Unfortunately, as we all know, perfectly good dogs are abandoned all the time.

The public still too often associates shelter dogs with images of beat up, sick, dirty, severely traumatized animals and while we definitely sometimes see victims such as these, they are certainly not the majority and, regardless, even the most abused animals can very often be saved and made whole again.

Pound Dogs sometimes discusses the sad histories some of the dogs have suffered. For the most part, though, it tries to present the dogs not as victims but as great potential family members. The goal is to raise the profiles of animals in adoption centers so that a potential pet owner sees them as the best choice, not just as the charity choice.

So, here's the favour I'm asking. Whenever you see a dog picture on these pages you think is decent enough, I'd like you to consider sharing it on Facebook or any other social media sites you're using (I know many of you do this already and thank you for that). And when you share it, please mention that the dog in the photo is a shelter dog like so many other shelter dogs waiting for a home. If we can get even five percent of the pet buying public to see shelter dogs differently, to see how beautiful they are and how wonderful they are, and to consider shelter dogs as their first choice for a new family member, we can end the suffering of homeless pets in this country.
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