At Fulton County Shelter, most dogs bark for attention from their cramped kennels. Iris, however, is different. After spending two years on the streets of Georgia, this homeless pup finds it hard to adjust to shelter life. She tries to make herself invisible by shoving her nose into the corner as far as possible.
Iris and her pregnant sister, Daffodil, caught the attention of volunteer Laurel-Ann Dooley. Worried that Iris would soon be beyond saving, Dooley posted an appeal on Facebook.
In her post, Dooley described how terrified Iris was: “She lets me pet her but remains cringing against the wall. No treat will tempt her — she is not interested in eating.”
BarkVille Dog Rescue saw Dooley’s post and quickly reached out to their network of foster homes. Daffodil found a safe place to have her puppies, but Iris was a more challenging case.
Lin Rocke, a former vet tech, saw Iris’ photo and knew she could help. With her husband’s support, Rocke welcomed Iris into their home.
Once at Rocke’s house, Iris sought safety in the corner of her crate. “She stayed there, not moving, through the night,” said Rocke. Two days later, Iris still found comfort in corners, but she slowly began to explore new spaces.
“Iris has moved from the corner of the crate to the corner of the twin daybed I have in the room, which is great,” Rocke explained. “I can sit next to her on the bed and do my work from my laptop and get her used to me just existing around her.”
Rocke believes Iris is truly feral and doesn’t know what is safe or that humans can be kind. Thankfully, Iris has a buddy to help her learn: a golden retriever named Letty.
Letty helped Iris move from her crate to the bed. “Iris definitely gravitates to Letty,” Rocke said. “She trusted her immediately and moved to the bed from the top of the crate to be closer to her.”
Though still extremely fearful, Iris is gradually learning the joys of being a dog with a home. She’s grateful for every bowl of food offered to her, and Rocke is confident she’ll continue to make progress.
“Patience,” Rocke emphasized. “So much patience. Infinite patience for the fact that our entire world is totally alien to her.”