Dilly had nowhere to go. Scared of people and of himself, the black and white pup rushed relentlessly to the campus of a local school in Houston, Texas. She always made herself felt, but was often afraid to get too close.
Dilly needed time to get used to people. Luckily, dog rescuer Kristin Erwin had all the time in the world.
“[J’ai] quickly realized it was a very scared dog,” Erwin said. “As soon as you showed interest in her, she booked it and ran away. She couldn’t be stopped or get attention.”
Erwin waited patiently until Dilly felt ready to approach one of Erwin’s traps. Once safely inside, Erwin brought Dilly home and began the anxious pup’s slow process of adjusting to life in the house.
Erwin made a video of Dilly’s trip, which you can watch here:
„I gave Dilly his own room,“ Erwin said. “The first few days I left her completely alone, then I started spending a few minutes there during the day, either talking softly to her or hand feeding her. She had the cutest little lips and an overbite. I remember it was the 10th day I got my first fuss from him.
After spending a month in Erwin’s care, Dilly finally worked up the courage to step out of her room on her own. Once Dilly realized there was nothing to worry about, she quickly got used to all the comforts the house had to offer.
“Finally, she herself came down the hall and saw that she was in the living room,” Erwin said. “Once she found the couch, everything else was history. I remember we even put her bowl of food on the couch like a princess.”
Erwin bonded with the quirky pup and she found his resilience and tenacity very inspiring.
„I really love watching a dog’s transformation, but when it goes from a scared, closed dog to a relaxed, ‚come alive‘ dog, that’s it!“ said Erwin. „Once she let her guard down, she was a whole new dog.“
Dilly finally had confidence, but now she needed a permanent family. Unbeknownst to Dilly or Erwin, the secret admirer followed Erwin on Instagram, slowly falling in love with the once nervous pup. He was one of Erwin’s old school friends, and although she hadn’t met Dilly in person, she knew they were destined to meet.
„I was very excited that Dilly could potentially be passed on to someone close,“ Erwin said.
After a careful transition, Dilly moved into his permanent residence. Now safe in the comfort of her new family, Dilly is enjoying all her favorite things.
„Dilli got along really well with his family,“ Erwin said. “She quickly became friends with their dogs and also with her young son. They go to Starbucks for pupuccinos, walk around the block, [et elle] sleep in their bed. Now she has everything. More importantly, she has a family that loves her unconditionally, even though she’s still a little weird.
