Ivy was terrified in the shelter

𝗦𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗗𝗼𝗴𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗪𝗼𝗼𝗱𝘀
Ivy and Hazel were living in the woods in Clay County with a pack of dogs, in an area where a lot of dogs were dumped. Animal Control Officers trapped them, but they were both so terrified in the shelter that they couldn’t be adopted out, so they were designated "rescue only." The shelter was full, they were out of time, and the "unadoptable" dogs were at the top of the list.

When we went to get them from the shelter, they were so scared that we couldn't even touch them. Ivy and Hazel huddled into the corner of their kennels, trying to get as far away from us as they could. They were so terrified it was heartbreaking to see.

We had to bring crates into their kennels, load them into the crates, and zip tie the crates closed for transport. We knew if they ever got out, we'd never see them again.
Marlene Ritter offered to foster Ivy but she was out of town, so Kelly MacDade temp fostered her. Ivy immediately hid under the bed. Kelly removed the mattress and blocked off under the bed, but Ivy was still terrified.

When Marlene returned and Ivy moved to her house, Ivy immediately hid under her bed. They went through the same process, and Ivy eventually jumped on the bed.

She gradually started coming out of her shell, but every step forward was followed by a step back. Ivy was terrified of Marlene's toddler Jackson. Kids are unpredictable, and to a scared dog who hasn't been around people, much less kids, they can be scary.

We decided to move Ivy to Katie Bethea, and little by little Ivy improved. Katie socialized her, boosted her confidence, and taught her to trust humans. She learned to walk on the leash, follow commands, and live like a normal dog. Ivy was eventually adopted, and we all celebrated.

“𝗜𝘃𝘆’𝘀 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗕𝗮𝗰𝗸”
A few months later, we got a message from the new adopter that they wanted to return Ivy because she was scared again. Among other things, she was hiding under the bed. We tried to help them troubleshoot, but they were done. They wanted Ivy out. Katie had another foster at the time, so Ivy couldn't go back there.

Thankfully, Beth Cummings agreed to foster Ivy, so at least we had a place for her to go. When we went to pick her up, we were very pleasantly surprised. Ivy was shy and a little timid, but not terrified. When we got to Beth's house, she immediately warmed up to Beth. We were cautiously optimistic, but Ivy was on a roller coaster. She would go from happy to scared, back to hiding under the bed.

By now, Beth knew the tricks, so she blocked under the bed and closed the other bedroom doors.
The new problem was that Ivy wouldn't eat. Beth and her family went to great lengths to figure it out, offering her dozens of different types of food. She’d eat one day, but not the next. She was a very picky eater, and it was almost impossible to get her to take medicine when she wouldn't take food or treats.

Beth experimented with different foods, different bowls, and feeding her in different locations. On the bed, on the couch, on the floor with a special eating mat. Voila, it would work... and then it didn't.
Beth took her to the vet multiple times, getting anti-nausea medicine, antibiotics, xrays, and the whole works.

We discovered that Ivy had resistant hookworms. We finally ran an allergy panel, and discovered that Ivy couldn't tolerate most foods. She couldn't tolerate beef, pork, lamb, duck, chicken, soybeans, milk, and a long list of other ingredients.

𝗠𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺𝘀 𝗖𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗔𝗻𝘅𝗶𝗲𝘁𝘆
The light bulb came on. Almost every kind of food she was eating had one or more ingredients she couldn't tolerate. The food was making her feel bad, and that, in turn, created more anxiety for her. In a nutshell, her medical problems were making her more anxious. In hindsight, it makes sense. When you have food poisoning or the flu and you feel terrible, you don't want to talk to people or socialize. You just want to go back to bed. Poor Ivy felt terrible, and she just wanted to hide.

We started shopping for foods low on her list, and we bought a bunch of food with her 'good' ingredients. After a couple more weeks of experimenting with her food, Beth had a list of food she liked—and could tolerate. Ivy was eating regularly, and when she felt better, she was once again a happy girl.

Not many people would go to the lengths that Beth and her family did to help Ivy. We rely on our fosters to take care of our pups, and Beth did a phenomenal job, all while she was recovering from surgery herself. She didn't just go above and beyond, she went miles past above and beyond. Thanks to Beth's commitment and dedication, she figured out what was going on, and she got Ivy through it.

𝗔 𝗛𝗮𝗽𝗽𝘆 𝗘𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴
Even better, Ivy is now adopted by Mike and Kayla Jones. The stars really aligned on this one—during the adoption, we learned that Kayla is one of Beth's co-workers. We think it was meant to be.

This sweet girl has gone through so much in a short time, but we're so happy for her. We're also so thankful to Beth, and Katie, and Marlene, and Kelly. Thank you Jana for once again finding a perfect match, and thank you to everyone else who helped her along the way. It’s not always easy, but this is why we do what we do. Happy tails, sweet girl!