Joe Kahlo
Meet Heaven, a rescue puppy who had a difficult start to life and was therefore afraid of strangers and any loud noises.
Jack Rakers adopted Heaven from the Kentucky River Regional Animal Shelter and struggled to get her out of her shell… until now.
Jackie Rakers, speaking to The Dodo, said “the Home Depot runs started as a way to help her with her fears.”
“She was nervous about new places and new sounds, so we’d go for five minutes and she’d get all the treats. Then we started going longer and longer and exposing her to more and more things within the store.”
It was a perfect place for Heaven to socialize and come out of her shell. She was such a good girl, that they decided to gift her her very own mini uniform.
Now she knows what it’s time for when the apron comes out.
“I keep it in the car so we are always ready,” says Jackie. “As soon as she can tell we enter the parking lot, she just quivers until I put [the apron] on her and then takes off towards ‘work.’”
“She walks around like she owns the place.”
“She walks around minding her own business and then suddenly insists on meeting someone.”
“She just sits and stares. They always end up saying how they needed that pick-me-up. It’s like she has a sense of who needs to be shown they are loved that day — and one of her favorite places to do that is Home Depot!”
Heaven loves running errands with her mom, and everywhere they go, she finds someone having a rough day who needs her smile.
“She was scared of everything, but with a lot of training and patience, she learned to trust, and now it’s like she pays it forward,” Rakers said. “She finds who needs her and gives them that smile and a cuddle.”
“She’s the perfect example of what happens when you meet someone where they are at and love unconditionally,” Rakers said. “She went from so scared and so sad to the happiest dog.”
All credits go to JACKIE RAKERS
