A couple of days ago I put the above photo of myself and Bentley onto my personal Instagram account and it got me thinking about how far he has come in three years. I thought it would make the perfect reading for you lovely lot.
Where It All Began
Around the end of February in 2015 my mum spied the below photo on our local rehoming shelter. What she saw broke her heart, there was a damaged, lost soul looking at her through the photograph and something in her heart told her she had to do something. She came to me and my dad and told us about the poor boy who at the time was called Ronnie. My dad knew that nothing he could say would change her mind, so they went to visit him.
What my mum saw that day broke her heart. When she went in to meet the poor wee soul she had seen on the rescue shelters Facebook, she wasn't prepared for how broken a fellow human had made him. Bentley - as he is now called - was a disgusting yellow/brown colour from having to live among his own faeces for a long time. We later found out that by that point he had already been bathed up to nine times and he still wasn't clean. He had scars on his nose from trying to force his way out of the cage he was kept in and even the slightest noise terrified him to his core.
My dad lifted a toy to play with him and he immediately thought that something awful was going to happen to him so he ran and hid behind my mums legs. At that point he thought his own shadow was out to get him and my mum said, "he's coming home with us".
When He Came Home
The first few weeks when he came home were tough, the slightest noise made him jump and he found it hard to relate to the love the he was being shown. He had company in our other three dogs and the oldest girl, Missy, took it upon herself to mother and protect him. I took it upon myself to clean him up, as I have kind of become the designated groomer in our house, when the dogs get themselves into a disgusting mess. He had embedded poo in his fur and I sat with him whilst he slept on my knee and gently removed it by hand. He had to have quite a bit of his fur cut away but we saved as much as we possibly could.
Another thing we wanted to change was his weight. Bentley was scarily thin. I am not sure how his thin legs even held him up. When he tried to scratch himself with his hind leg, his whole body would tremble and shake, to the point he almost toppled over sometimes.
What We Did
This bit is quite easy... we just loved him. He has such a gorgeous soul it is very hard not to love him but that's really all we did. We showed him he had nothing to fear with us, he had a proper diet - and the odd treat. My favourite thing was that within a week he had learnt the command of sit. All I would do was say the word sit and take a step towards him, moving him backwards which encouraged him to sit. He was soon doing it without me even having to do that.
Over the months we realised just how smart he was. He takes the time to figure things out and he surprises me everyday with something new he can do. When I place the palm of my hand flat on the floor he immediately lies down, rolls on his back and waits for his tummy to be petted. He's a gem!!
His Temperament
I know a very common question will be how his temperament was when we rescued him. I expected him to defend himself and be very protective, if not a little snarly at times - as I know I would be if I was treated that badly. However, Bentley couldn't defend himself if he tried. He has the softest mouth - what I mean by that is, if you hand feed him a treat instead of just grabbing it out of your hand he tries so hard to not touch you with his teeth cause he's scared of hurting you. He could probably carry live puppies around in his mouth and not one would be hurt. If the other dogs come to take the bone he is eating, he doesn't stop them he just lets them and goes to get another one. He wouldn't hurt a fly!
His Forever Home
Bentley has been with us for over three years now and even though he can sometime display his timid side, all in all, he is a very happy and confident dog. He has found his voice and likes to bark to let us know he is there - you definitely cannot sneak up on him. He spreads his love as much as he can with kisses and cuddles whenever possible. He is a very lively young boy but he is a truly remarkable soul. To come from the beginning he had, where he had every right to snap and treat humans as we had treated him, yet remain gentle and full of love is remarkable!
What We Did
This bit is quite easy... we just loved him. He has such a gorgeous soul it is very hard not to love him but that's really all we did. We showed him he had nothing to fear with us, he had a proper diet - and the odd treat. My favourite thing was that within a week he had learnt the command of sit. All I would do was say the word sit and take a step towards him, moving him backwards which encouraged him to sit. He was soon doing it without me even having to do that.
Over the months we realised just how smart he was. He takes the time to figure things out and he surprises me everyday with something new he can do. When I place the palm of my hand flat on the floor he immediately lies down, rolls on his back and waits for his tummy to be petted. He's a gem!!
His Temperament
I know a very common question will be how his temperament was when we rescued him. I expected him to defend himself and be very protective, if not a little snarly at times - as I know I would be if I was treated that badly. However, Bentley couldn't defend himself if he tried. He has the softest mouth - what I mean by that is, if you hand feed him a treat instead of just grabbing it out of your hand he tries so hard to not touch you with his teeth cause he's scared of hurting you. He could probably carry live puppies around in his mouth and not one would be hurt. If the other dogs come to take the bone he is eating, he doesn't stop them he just lets them and goes to get another one. He wouldn't hurt a fly!
His Forever Home
Bentley has been with us for over three years now and even though he can sometime display his timid side, all in all, he is a very happy and confident dog. He has found his voice and likes to bark to let us know he is there - you definitely cannot sneak up on him. He spreads his love as much as he can with kisses and cuddles whenever possible. He is a very lively young boy but he is a truly remarkable soul. To come from the beginning he had, where he had every right to snap and treat humans as we had treated him, yet remain gentle and full of love is remarkable!
For me, the moral of Bentley's tale is that no dog should every be left behind. Bentley needed a little bit of tender loving care and he has become the cutest bundle of fluff there ever was. Never be put off because the dog looks filthy or may have had bad start in life. These experiences do not always define the dog, or what they will become. Bentley is a shining example of what a little bit of care can do!!
Have you a heartwarming tale to tell?
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