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It’s painful to watch an animal shake in fear. But the happy ending that Blossom got after a terrible start to life has drawn millions of viewers to her story.
In fact, since a video of the sweet pup was uploaded to YouTube by The Dodo in August 2018, it’s been viewed over 30 MILLION times!
When Blossom arrived at her shelter, she was petrified of people. In fact, she managed to climb under her bed to hide and would scamper out terrified when anyone moved it.
Her big, expressive eyes made her look even more sad and scared, and when making eye contact she would start to shake.
No one knows quite what she went through prior to arriving at the shelter, but she was rescued from a hoarding situation with 150 other dogs.
Rocky Kanaka was a volunteer at the shelter and couldn’t bear to see the little pup tremble in fear anymore. So he scooped her up and brought her home with him as a foster.
When they got there, Kanaka wanted to give the pup a chance to acclimate so they sat in the garage for a while where Blossom just trembled in fear from the relative safety of the back of her crate.
Kanaka has been fostering dogs for years and has experience with all sorts of behaviors, so the pup was in good hands — she just had to realize it for herself. He had never seen a dog as scared as Blossom.
She hid under the furniture for days, panicking and unable to function.
“Blossom didn’t know how to be a dog,” he told The Dodo. “She’d never felt grass before, so when she’s putting her little paws on it, she’s just terrified.”
Everything was new to this little dog — she was even afraid of sunlight!
She would bolt at the first sign of potential eye contact. And there were times she would curl up for safety under furniture for days at a time.
The only time she would agree to come out was for her bathroom breaks.
In an attempt to make the dog feel safe, Kanaka never forced her out of her hiding spot. He wanted her to do it in her own time, when she felt secure enough to interact.
Knowing the table she hid beneath didn’t provide enough shelter to let her truly relax, he moved it and replaced it with a little “bedroom” for the pup – a tent in which she could hide but still see what was going on around her.
“Once that space was built we started seeing a lot of firsts,” Kanaka said.
Blossom allowed her foster dad to start hand feeding her eventually, which built up some trust.
He even cooked all of her meals since she wouldn’t drink out of a water bowl and the only way to make sure she was getting enough hydration was to make sure there was moisture in her food.
But one day, after six full weeks of fostering, Blossom made a bold move — she saw the other dogs in the house drinking from their water bowls and went up and did the same!
Even the praise from her foster dad scared her — but the important part was that she finally did it. It was the first dog-like thing Kanaka had seen her do.
After that, Blossom did something even more unexpected. She simply jumped up onto the couch next to her foster dad one day after months of avoiding contact!
And it’s hard not to tear up when she allows him to give her head a stroke.
There are always multiple dogs in Kanaka’s home and, eventually, Blossom became the official greeter of new animals.
But it was a random moment that truly captured the foster dad’s heart after all of his efforts.
“…one day the most beautiful thing happened. All of the sudden, she just starts running around and wagging her tail. I was one of the happiest moments of my life.”
It was all worth it at that point.
It took three months, but Blossom finally…well, blossomed!
After that, she was ready to find her forever home. And while plenty of commenters were sad to see that Kanaka wasn’t keeping her, it’s people like him who spend time with a variety of animals and get them ready for their futures that allow so many cats and dogs to become good pets.
Blossom’s new mom Brittnay is certainly grateful for fosters like Kanaka. She and the pup are now living happily ever after.
Be sure to scroll down below to see Blossom’s journey.
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