A shelter worker named Abbey made a special effort to reach out to an extremely shy shelter dog named Ted, and the results were extraordinary. Abbey tried to take Ted for a walk, but couldn’t get him to budge. She fed the scared dog a handful of cheese-flavored bacon treats, hoping to gain his trust, then went about the rest of her shift. It was her first interaction with Ted, and she didn’t think much about it afterwards.
An incredible journey
The next day, Abbey got home after her second job to find a strange dog on her porch, barking. It was late, and Abbey wasn’t sure she wanted to tangle with the unknown animal. She mustered her courage and went for the door. The skittish dog darted into the yard, and Abbey decided to try and lure him into the house. Once she got him inside, she recognized a scar on his nose. She was shocked to realize it was Ted, the shy dog she’d met at the shelter the previous day.
You had me at bacon
Ted had apparently decided that Abbey was “The One” after her kindness (and bacon) of the day before. Ted had broken out of his outdoor kennel at the Northwest Territories SPCA and ran over 3 miles through the airport, around lakes and ponds, and through several sprawling neighborhoods to find his new best friend.
“It’s just, it’s the weirdest, the most amazing thing that’s ever happened,” said Abbey. “I can’t ignore a sign like that. He showed up at my house, out of how many people [that] live here? All the dogs. All the smells. He chose my house. Where I am.”
Smell you later
Breed expert Cheryl Sandler links Ted’s miraculous journey to his Akita half. (Ted is half German shepherd and half Akita.) Akitas tend to be ‘one-person dogs’ who bond deeply to one member of their human family. Akitas were originally bred for tracking and hunting bears in their native Japan, and have a great nose, and a deep drive to accomplish their goals.
A life changer
Abbey has decided to adopt Ted as soon as she can move to a dog-friendly home. “It’s kind of put a new spin on my life,” she said. She walks him daily at the shelter, noting “he still stays close enough and is always constantly looking back, staring at me.”
Hat tip: CBC
