Sophie Needs a Home

This sweet, resilient dog is so overdue for her happy ending. She’s come a long way in rescue, has completed a formal training program, and is ready to go home and be part of a family. She needs her special someone to step up and give her a chance.

Sophie beat the odds to find her way to safety. A year prior to coming into the rescue, Dogs Deserve Better of Northern Virginia (DDB) helped save ten of Sophie’s brothers and sisters, but sadly she was left behind. The story begins when one of our volunteers, Amanda, spotted Sophie’s mom running along a rural South Carolina highway, dangerously close to traffic. After a frantic search with the help of some local rescue folks, they located the stray dog’s owner and were told that she had just had a litter of eleven puppies who were living underneath their porch. Amanda offered to take the mom and all the puppies into rescue, but the owner refused.

Feeling torn about leaving the dogs behind, Amanda left her name and number just in case the owner changed his mind, and less than a week later she received a call saying that the mother dog had been killed on the highway, and they wanted to surrender the puppies to DDB. The owner would only release 10 of the 11 puppies, keeping one for his daughter. While the 10 puppies were all adopted to great local families, we could only hope the best for the puppy who was left behind.

The story comes full circle months later when Amanda was driving the same stretch of highway, and stopped to help another dog she spotted running along the road. She followed the dog back to the same area where the 10 puppies had been rescued, and spoke with the family who lived next door. They had been feeding the stray puppy for months, but had no idea who she belonged to. Based on the timeline, location, and the pup’s age and appearance, Amanda knew this was the puppy who had been left behind. Little Sophie had survived on her own, and was being given a second chance to find a family who would love and care for her.

Since that day, Sophie’s life has changed. She came into the rescue very fearful and anxious, never having lived in a home with family, and spent a few months in her foster home adjusting to home life. She was initially hesitant on leash, with all the new sights and sounds of the suburbs, but learned to enjoy walks and exploring her community. We also discovered she was anxious when left alone, and suffered from separation anxiety.

Sophie needed more training than your typical foster home could give, so DDB reached out to the Happy Hounds Prison Dog Program (HHPDP), a special inmate dog training program at the Roxbury Correctional Institute in Hagerstown, MD, for help. DDB has had two other dogs successfully complete this program, and transition into great family dogs. Sophie has been in the program for the past five months getting one-on-one attention and training, working on her social skills, mastering her basic commands, and addressing her separation anxiety, and she also gets regular workouts on the program's agility training courses. She's very connected with her handler and closely bonds with her person.

In February, Sophie passed her final behavioral test in the program, and is ready to go home. She is still a young pup at only two years old, and weighs about 45 pounds with a very a slender frame. She has a gentle nature, would be good with kids, and is a playful girl who would fit well with an active family. She needs an owner who is willing to give her a little time to settle in and trust her surroundings. The trainers at the Happy Hounds program have helped her work through some of her separation anxiety, and she can now be crated for periods of time and knows her basic commands.

Sophie is a great dog who will make a very loving companion, but while she may be dainty and pretty, she is also a confident and sometimes a stubborn lady in the absence of an owner who can be a leader. She needs an owner with a flexible schedule – someone who works from home or a family with a staggered work schedule would be ideal. She loves to play and is good with some dogs when given a proper introduction, but she would love to be an only dog getting all the attention, and making up for lost time.

We are looking for an adopter who will commit to Sophie, work with her, and allow her a few weeks to acclimate…that’s all she needs. The trainers from the program will be there to support and give guidance as Sophie transitions to her new home. She’s done the work, and deserves the chance to have a good life.

We know Sophie's family is out there...Please SHARE to help Sophie find her way home or apply today: http://adopt.ddbnova.org

Foster Sophie - http://foster.ddbnova.org

Check out Sophie!