I am a volunteer with a dog rescue organization called Operation Paws for Homes (OPH). In 2023, I was doing a lot of “pupovers,” which are short-term fostering (a couple days to a couple of weeks) to give the regular foster parent a break.
Between September and October 2023, we got him for pupovers 3 times. I said to my husband, after the 2nd time, if he comes back a 3rd time, I wouldn’t let him go.
When we first came to know him, they were calling him “Gherkin”. He had been brought to MD from the deep south. He was scared and sad. He would just cower in the corner of his crate and shake and shiver. It was difficult to get him to come outside to pee.
It was obvious that he had been physically abused. If you so much as flinched, he would immediately go down cowering and start to shake uncontrollably. He didn’t like men. He wouldn’t let my husband near him at first.
He was underweight; we could see his ribs. He had messed up teeth; he had ground most of them down and some were causing pain and had potential for infection.
So OPH arranged to have the problem teeth pulled – 15 of them!
Apparently, when dogs are tied up outside, sometimes they chew on rocks to deal with anxiety…that’s what they think happened to him.
On October 23, 2023, we officially adopted “Gherkin” and re-named him Valor – hoping he would grow into it.
He would not climb on the furniture, even though we allow our dogs to have access to the whole house and sit wherever they like. We even let them sleep in our bed.
It took weeks for him to learn to trust. Slowly but surely, he let my husband near, too.
The first time he jumped on the couch was so heartwarming.
But nothing will ever top the moment when he showed his belly… laying down on the sofa, on his back, completely exposing his belly.
Soon after that, he felt comfortable enough to jump in our bed.
Though his crate is still his safe space, he now frequently sleeps outside his crate, in an easy chair in the corner of our bedroom or in our bed with us and his siblings.
He has 4 siblings:
- Lennox “the menace”, a long-haired mini dachshund (age 3)
- Lucky “the plucky”, a short-haired dachshund (age 3)
- Baily “the flaily”, a beagle (age 3)
- Bella “the hella”, a rottie mix (age 1)
Valor’s nicknames are:
Valor “the (tail) wagger”
Valor “the (squirrel) whacker”
Today, Valor is an extremely happy boy whose tail never stops wagging.
He loves cuddles and he loves showing his belly.
He gets along well with his siblings, and they all vie for his attention, especially the youngest, Bella.
She follows him around and gets jealous if he doesn’t pay her enough attention.
Story Shared by Marie Tyler
