Featured Pet: Sophie

Sweet Sophie’s story started when she was first adopted from a rescue by a lovely couple at only 8 weeks old. She thrived with them- loved going for walks, spending time in the house cuddling, and loved being the apple of their eye! Though as she entered adulthood, it was clear that Sophie had a shy side to her that sometimes made her fearful of unknown or unexpected things, more so when outside on her walks. On occasion, the couple would also have a visiting 4 year old which would make Sophie nervous and uncomfortable. The couple then were expecting a child of their own, and noticing the signs of Sophie’s nerves with young children, they decided to enter Sophie in a training course to hopefully help with their situation.

The couple decided to take a correction-based training course for Sophie, however as weeks went on, they noticed Sophie’s reactivity was getting worse. Shortly after the course was finished, they decided that this route wasn’t the best for Sophie. Along came their newborn and despite their best efforts over the course of a year, including some behavior medication, Sophie was unable to adjust to this new lifestyle. The family was living in a split household between the baby and Sophie, and though there was never an incident between the baby and Sophie, they knew Sophie was unhappy and needed a different life to thrive and be happy. They contacted Our Companions for assistance and we were more than happy to help Sophie find a home for her to be happy and whole again!

Sophie arrived to our Sanctuary in January of 2023 and she was a bundle of nerves. Leaving the only home she’s ever known can be quite a hard obstacle to overcome, and she was already a nervous dog to begin with. Though she did start to bond with her people friends quite quickly, it was hard for her to be in her room away from them. She had a lack of appetite and was becoming more leash reactive outside to things that spooked her. At Our Companions, we are big supporters of reward-based, positive reinforcement training, which was tricky to find treats that would help Sophie eat. But once we found something she liked, Sophie loved working on her training with staff and volunteers! She enjoyed learning, and of course eating yummy treats! Once she settled in and got comfortable with her new routine, she truly started to thrive!

We continued to work with Sophie with this style of training, which not only was working on improving her reactivity on leash, but it also gave her a huge confidence boost towards being a healthy and happy girl! Sophie absolutely loves being with her friends and will happily greet them at the door! When you sit on the couch, she can’t jump on fast enough to give you kisses and love! She’ll even enjoy chewing on her toys, knowing you’re close by to give pets when she’d like. However, once you grab her leash to go outside, she’ll drop everything to get ready for an adventure! She’s more than happy for a decent stroll around the neighborhood or a lap around the yard, but a good hike day is great too!

Sophie is quite a smiley girl when she gets to have fun with her friends, but now it’s time for this 8 year old girl to head on home to continue her journey! Given her nervousness around young children, sweet Sophie would absolutely love to be in an adult or older teen home where she can gets lot of attention and continued training so that she can continue building confidence and a relationship with her new family. We would love to help with her training post-adoption to ensure both Sophie and her family feel fully supported! She did live with a dog once in her past, but we suspect being an only pet in a home would be great for Sophie. A home full of love, patience, and kindness will fill Sophie’s heart with happiness! To learn more about this lovely gal, please contact Our Companions at 860-242-9999 or email [email protected]!