“And to think this is the same dog that used to have to sleep in the street.” That is that one line, and it is overlayed on a silent video of Tik Tok, that is why so many people stopped and stared. The base of the video, posted on the account of 22 year old Vicky, indie, her dog, is wrapped in the covers, with heavy eyes, yet the hand of his owner is not touching him, it is just that it is slightly swinging over his head. Indie doesn’t flinch. He doesn’t track every sound. He simply sleeps, as it is now allowed to sleep.
As Vicky commented, Indie was found in a bad condition. Another video on the account portrays him as a puppy, which is obviously thin and malnourished. The subsequent additions are as though they belonged to some other life altogether: Indie has relaxed, frolicsome and asking him to be a “Velcro dog,” in that he continually sticks to her. This is so drastic that it does not appear as a makeover, it appears that the nervous system can finally breath.
The believers crowded the post with gratitude which is usually given to miracles. Official PETA version was authored, “From cold streets to warm sheets. Thank you for giving this sweet soul the love, warmth, and care he’s always deserved!” Vicky answered simply: “Best decision I’ve [ever] made!” Another commenter added, “They are safe now.”
These lines are memorable because “safe” is not a place in which a rescued dog is, this is a lesson. The majority of dogs enter homes with the remaining effect of banging and uneven shelter environments and constant switches in which every brand new odor and corridors may appear one more problem to be solved. Compression: a brief rest of action so that a dog could look about is one of the items that organizations assisting adopters concentrate on. Other shelters will even go to the point of educating a two-week decompression plan that causes the first few days to be easy; short walks, limited entry to the house and no-go timetables so that the dog will stop scanning ahead.
The very gradual tone finds its reflection in the rescue settlements under the guise of the “two-week shutdown” as a reminder that boring is not a punishment, it is the relief. The instructions will be the same, not to introduce anything big, not to walk in a row, but to create a regularity to which the dog is used to the initiation and which he or she must be able to predict, so that he or she may make judgment by himself or herself as to whether to come closer or not. It also means struggle against the feeling of being cautious as unThankfulness. It is possible that a dog that is loved can be conquered by change.
The most rational period is the decompression in the first few weeks to most adopters since behaviors can follow illogical paths in this period. Dogs are capable of sleeping longer than is wanted, urinating after they have been housetrained, become attached to a particular person, or fear certain people at home. Escape risk may also be involved in the case of the initial stages and that is one of the reasons why shelters tend to focus on attaching a leash to the door and keeping the eye on the outside at least before a dog can notice that this is a new home.
The novel of Indie is also a novel that is in touch with a more general reality. By 2024, the ASPCA estimated approximately 2 million dogs were placed in shelters, but the intake has been high with dogs making up approximately half of the total 5.8 million animals that are placed in shelters each year and most of those placed in shelters are strays (approximately 60%).
Despite the adoption process, it takes most dogs a long time to adjust to a home life which is often justified by the 3-3-3 adjustment model where the initial three days are a period of disorientation, three weeks is a period of transition to a more of a routine way of life and a month of bondage. Finally, Indie has soft sleep that is not something insignificant. An evident pointer is that the terrifying element of the story is no longer occurring night after night.
