Pumpkin is one of the dogs rescued by the Animal Humane Society from a hoarding situation near Bemidji in February. Her foster mom picked her out at their shelter from among the shy and fearful dogs who needed some extra TLC. Pet Haven took her in and she has been in her foster home for a month now. Pumpkin’s biggest challenge is to get over her fear of people. She was apprehensive at first but is now very bonded to her foster mom. She follows her everywhere and snuggles whenever she can. Her foster dad feeds her all of her meals and treats – which she loves – although she isn’t completely comfortable with him yet. She tolerates human visitors to her home but usually doesn’t relax when they are present.

Pumpkin is spending this weekend at another Pet Haven foster home to see if and how fast she will bond with someone else when her foster mom is not around. So far she is doing OK. She growled a bit at first, but after a nervous couple of hours, she settled down and even rolled over on her back for a belly rub. It is a beautiful weekend as far as the weather goes, and she is spending some of her time sitting on the deck next to her weekend foster mom and exploring the yard. We are pleased to see that she is starting to bond with another person and has been able to fairly quickly settle into a new environment. This will ease the transition to her future adoptive home.

Pumpkin still needs help with her socialization skills, but is coming along. Her foster mom and dad are very understanding of her difficult past and she is rewarding their patience by learning to trust people and be a happy and cherished companion.