Save The Animals Foundation E-News (October 2010)

We've done clean-up on some pretty dastardly human deeds ... rehabilitating animals that have been abused, neglected and discarded like yesterday's garbage. Starsky and Hutch are two of our latest projects, and right up there with the most heartbreaking.

Story is that the former owner of these brothers confined them to a horse trailer for the entirety of their young lives, depriving them of the one thing dogs want most: simply to be with their people. Damage was done. The complete void of love, human contact and socialization accounts for their shy and fearful natures.

Starsky and Hutch were rescued, literally, from death's door. Their owner was taking them into a high-kill county shelter just as a rescuer/angel was coming out. She knew all too well the certain fate of such terribly shy dogs in a stressful, overpopulated shelter, and-in a stroke of kindness that surely earns her a free pass to heaven-she took them home with her. It was the beginning of the end of their nightmare.

They arrived at STAF a few weeks later, during the same 70's naming-kick that welcomed shepherd-mix sisters Laverne and Shirley. Starsky (the hunky dark-haired one) and Hutch (the blond heartthrob) spent their first days at our shelter hunkered together under a sink, terrified of everyone and everything. They had to be carried to the yard. They had no idea how to walk on leash. Didn't know what it meant to be touched or loved by a human. Damage had been done.
Hutch

A week later, they were walking to the yard and back like seasoned pros and accepting-if tentatively-affectionate pets. With an inspiring resiliency that makes us realize (yet again) that dogs are far superior to us humans, Hutch has really blossomed under the daily TLC of STAF volunteers. He greets us at the front of his run with a smiling face, a crazy-happy tail, and those gorgeous (gorgeous!) brown eyes.

Starsky, too, has come a long way, but has a long way still to go. Looking into his soulful dark eyes, we see a spirit desperate to be let loose. So we continue to work with him, providing him with the love, one-on-one attention, and daily routine that will bring him out of his shell and into the world of the living.

The boys can be adopted together, or separately to families with other dogs to provide the kind of companionship that helped them survive up to now. Their perfect home will provide the sense of security they need to heal emotionally, training to teach them confidence, and joyful celebrations with every small step they take toward becoming the trusting, loving and loved dogs they were meant to be. If you'd like to meet them, we'd love to introduce you. Visiting/adoption hours are Thursdays 6:00-8:00pm and Saturdays 1:00-4:00pm.