Every queen has a court. All Princess needed was Shannon.
If you enjoy spending time on the Happy Bark website—and we hope that you do!—you’re already familiar with Princess’ story. She’s been in foster care since late 2020 when she started treatment for a heartworm infection. That’s eight weeks of strict crate confinement, and it still was the easy part of preparing her to be adopted.
Princess was the rare case of a dog arriving in Happy Bark’s care with medical and behavior issues to fix. We were surprised to discover that she really didn’t like men, and wasn’t crazy about anyone she met, other dogs and children included. Princess wasn’t a happy animal, and let us know with her growls and defensive postures.
But things are different now.
Princess regularly hangs with her foster mom’s nieces and nephews. She attended a big family reunion and cheerfully took ear scritches from distant relations. She spends the occasional weekend with a (male!) dog sitter, who reports that she buries her head in his chest, snuggles with him on the couch, and rolls over for his belly rubs.
What changed for Princess? The love and patience of her foster mom, Shannon. Over the months they’ve lived together, Shannon has taught Princess to be, well, a dog. Shannon has given Princess the space and consistency she needed to learn that home is a safe place. That people are the source of treats and belly rubs. That her family can be trusted to keep her safe.
Shannon is an amazing foster mom, but she’ll be the first to say that she has no special dog-training skills or techniques. Her superpowers were simply patience and a willingness to meet Princess where she was. She didn’t cut corners and she didn’t try to hurry Princess along. Shannon trusted the process, and as a result Princess now trusts the people she meets.
The beauty of Shannon’s methods is that anyone can replicate them for Princess. She’s looking for her forever home, one with a little bit of patience and much love. (And many treats—Princess is a food-motivated learner.) Could Princess’ final home be yours? Check out Princess’ bio on the Adoptable Dogs page and fill out an application to speak with an Adoption Counselor about her.