Cherish—who is also known as Cherry—was found in the early hours of a rainy and cold November morning. She was dumped at Mommy & Me Rescue in one of their outdoor dog runs, curled up and shivering from the elements. Mommy & Me didn’t know much about her back story other than she was initially found on Big Mine Run Road in Centralia. Staff at Mommy & Me assessed Cherry and had her vetted. Cherry had a lot of healing to do, both physically and emotionally. She was emaciated, had a torn lip and wounds and scars all over her body from being bitten by other dogs.
Despite all she had been through and the many humans who had failed her in the past, she loved people. When it came to other dogs, however, Cherry was very reactive and fixated. Cherry had a potential adopter lined up fairly early on, but it needed to be seen how she would acclimate to other dogs, as she would be adopted into a home with a dog sibling.
That’s when the incarcerated dog handlers at SCI Coal Township heard her story, and one adamantly said, “I want to work with her.”
Nobody was sure what, if any, future Cherry would have. After much deliberation, it was decided Fostering Improving Dogs Obedience and Survival (FIDOS) would give it a go, as this would be the best chance at attempting to socialize her with other dogs. Her handler was determined and worked tirelessly with her to socialize and work on her reactivity towards the other dogs and find out what her triggers were. They slowly learned she would tolerate other dogs as long as they didn’t approach her or get in her face. She loved to run and loved to chase her ball. She thrived in the FIDOS program and slowly became less reactive while around the other dogs.
Fast forward to Feb. 1, when Cherry was adopted into her forever home! She even has a new sister named Daisy, and they became fast friends who love to play, do zoomies around the house and lounge together. Cherry’s transformation is nothing short of amazing and is a true testament to FIDOS.
