A German shepherd had been spotted several times over the past several weeks in the woods near Echo Lake Park in Texas. She was very scared to come close to anyone. But one woman was determined to rescue her, and her patience finally paid off.
“I knew it was extremely urgent to capture her,” Judy Obregon, founder of local animal rescue organization The Abandoned Ones (TAO), wrote earlier this month. “Gaining trust began [with] studying her every move.”
Obregon has rescued hundreds of scared and abused dogs from the area, which is a notorious dumping ground for unwanted animals. She is used to being gentle with dogs like this German shepherd. She uses a calm voice to assure them that they are in a safe place with her.
“At first, once she saw my truck she’d run,” Obregon wrote. “Every morning I’d go to feed her.”One morning, Obregon was surprised to see that the dog was there waiting for her. “I knew we were close [to capturing her].” But the German Shepherd was keeping something from her. The dog brought out another scared dog from the woods. This time, it was a pit bull with deep scars on his face. It seemed the Shepherd wanted the dog to know that Obregon was a nice person.
“She made it a point: If you take me, you take my friend, too!” Obregon wrote. She’s not sure how these two dogs ended up in the woods, or how they become friends, but they were clearly looking out for each other. Obregon had to take them both with her.
She named the German Shepherd Iris and the pit bull Clover and took them to the vet. Thankfully, neither of them suffered from heartworm. Obregon is now looking for a good foster home for these two friends. Both dogs are looking lively and are slowly getting more comfortable with Obregon.
“I said the same thing to her every day for her to know my voice and trust that one day her life would change,” Obregon wrote. “It’s all so rewarding when we can change the fear they have into a smile.”
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