An abandoned dog spent fifteen months living on her own near rural Ducor, California before being rescued by a man who refused to give up on her.
Like a wild animal, she roamed the fields by day and slept under solar panels at night. She relied on people who passed by to give her food. People did try to help but even animal control couldn’t catch her.
Week after week, she was on her own until a very special person came into her life and changed it forever. His name was Danny Spanks from A Safefurr Place Animal Rescue. He learned of her situation and decided to help.
He saw her for the first time in early December. Thankfully it wasn’t too cold. When he spied her, she was behind the fence of a solar panel enclosure and took off as soon as she saw him but that didn’t deter him.was
He began to call her Mama and visited her every day. However, whenever he approached, she ran away. Trying to gain her trust, he decided to build her a shelter and feeding station out of a pile of rubbish, mattress, and box springs that he found nearby. It would give them a place to meet.
She moved into her little sanctuary and was willing to eat and drink the food Danny left for her there daily. After a while, she didn’t run as far or as fast as she had previously. Time passed and eventually, he allowed him to sit nearby while she ate.
Then one day several months later, something amazing happened. Mama wanted to play! She bowed and danced from a safe distance, the first signs that he was breaking through her hard shell and reaching her tender heart, but she still didn’t let him get close to her.
She eventually started to get physically closer to him and was always happy to see him. She started to approach and have a little sniff. Accept tasty treats, and enjoyed the comradery of her new friend even if she wasn’t ready to fully trust him yet.
Every day, Mama waited for Danny in the same place and he never disappointed her. The two forged a friendship and ever so slowly Danny gained her trust bit by bit, never rushing it. It was clear she loved him even if she wasn’t ready to go with him.
After three months of visiting Mama, Danny found out the truth about her history. Five miles away, she had been abandoned at a gas station months before. From the pictures shared with him, she had been nursing puppies at the time.
Mama had been on her own ever since and dumped at her most vulnerable time. No wonder she didn’t trust so easily. Her heart had been broken by those who were supposed to love her forever.
But Danny didn’t give up and played leash games with her to desensitize her. He wasn’t going to give up and was fully committed to rescuing her no matter how long it took. He worked with her to accept his touch and eventually set up a humane trap to one day catch her in.
Week after week he continued to patiently work to bring the Mama home with him. Every day brought them a tiny step closer together but it wasn’t easy and many people probably would have given up.
After Mama got comfortable going in and out of the trap, the day finally came. Fifteen months after she was abandoned, they had a plan in place to finally capture her. It was the end of her roaming the fields alone and the beginning of the rest of her life.
She was moved from the fields to Danny’s house and the process of gaining her trust started again. Slowly she started to get comfortable in her new home and eventually settled into her new life.
Dogs are forever. They experience trauma when they are dumped. Thankfully this one was saved but so many are not so lucky. We hope Mama’s story touched your heart. Please feel free to share with your friends.
