Scratch's Happy Tail

Anne Vidal Willett was at her friend Sissy Blackwell’s Consign & Design shop looking at a NACHS adoptable pets poster when she saw a dog that she really liked and pointed it out to her friend.    Sissy said “I just adopted that dog yesterday!”   There was another dog on the poster that Anne liked – a Westie – but it had also been adopted when Ann visited the NACHS shelter.   Then she noticed a small dog in the back of his cage on the bottom at the end of the long row of cages, dark and hidden.  A NACHS employee said, “That’s Benji.  He’s been here for a year.”  The little dog had a reputation for not liking children, bringing him to the shelter to begin with and hurting his chances for adoption.   Time after time, he had watched people pass him by to adopt other dogs.    The only attention that he received was from the NACHS employees and it seemed as though he had given up on being adopted.  As Anne took a closer look into the kennel, he appeared to have a little hope and wedged his little body as close to her as the steel door would allow.

Scratch as NACHS shelter dog #1104 (aka "Benji")

Anne decided that she just had to give the sad looking dog a chance.  She re-named him “Scratch” and he quickly settled in to Anne’s home.  Over a period of several weeks, a much more handsome and much happier dog emerged. 

Scratch clearly now regards Anne as his rescuer, and he has become very possessive and protective of her.  While he gets along very well with all other animals, including a recently adopted cat, Anne has found that she has to keep a very close eye on Scratch when other people come to her house (especially painters and air conditioner repairmen).  She has found that Scratch takes his guard dog responsibilities seriously and that he will protect his owner “at all expense. “    Although currently looking for a good dog trainer, Anne reports that she is very happy with Scratch and that she is glad she noticed him that day and that she gave him a chance.

Scratch with Anne