For two years the employees at an office complex in Kennesaw, Georgia looked out their windows and saw the sad sight of a lonely doggo without a family. She lived alone in a forest just behind the office complex, seemingly abandoned by his previous owners after they left the area.
The employees tried their best, they left food for her to eat, and even the occasional toy, but this dog (who they named Shelby) was not interested in human companionship or leaving the woods.
“They put up a trap in the woods. They put signs up. They spoke with the management of the property about her.”
There was one brief ray of hope for the employees, however. Now and then, Shelby would come out of the forest and sit himself down on a green area just on the corner of the woods. This spot gave her a good look at the windows of the apartment complex; perhaps she was checking to see if her owners would return?
Fast forward a year, and the forest that became Shelby’s home is about to become lumber, it seems a new development is going to be erected there instead. This is where Jason Flatt, founder of Friends to the Forlorn Pitbull Rescue, comes in. Despite being busy rescuing innumerable dogs from perilous situations, and despite his shelter being full to the brim, he devised a plan.
The plan was simple. Flatt already knew that Shelby would eat the food that was left out for her, so he placed a trap in the usual spot that Shelby would eat at, a large crate that would close shut when Shelby went to eat the bowl of food that was laid out for her.
“I came back in the pouring rain. I got out of my van and I heard whining and howling. There she was in the trap.”
It appears Flatt’s mission was a success. Even though she’d spent two whole years sleeping rough, she got used to being in the human world again.
“On the first day, she was nervous, but I could pet her, by the third day, she was jumping up and down.”
She seems to have grown pretty fond of Jason, look at her giving him a cheeky kiss…
The only bad news for Shelby is that she’s tested positive for heartworms, thankfully the condition is treatable, and she’s going to be okay! What’s more important though, is that she’s learned to love again.
The next step in Shelby’s journey is hopefully adoption. Once she’s at a good loving home, she can put all this living in the woods business behind her. If you’d like to learn for about Friends to the Forlorn or are interested in adopting, you can visit their website here.
