Beacon was found wandering the streets of South Seattle when a good Samaritan spotted him and brought him to the Seattle Animal Shelter (SAS). When no one came forward to claim him he became one of thousands of homeless animals that find themselves at SAS every year. Although the shelter is a loving and compassionate place, Beacon was very agitated and afraid. He could not be approached or touched and snapped and growled if anyone came too close. He yelped if anyone touched his left flank, but after X-rays cleared him of any medical issues, his response was diagnosed as “a reaction to a past experience.” At the same time, he would become distressed and agitated if anyone left him alone. SAS staff knew that he was a smart dog as he knew the commands “sit” and “stay” but given his behavior they also knew that he could not be adopted.
Unfortunately, dogs like Beacon are often euthanized because of handling and behavior issues. They are deemed “unadoptable”.
But there was hope.
Luckily for Beacon, he was one of the fortunate animals that get another chance at life, love and happiness. He was immediately enrolled in the Seattle Animal Shelter Foundation donor-funded
Behavioral Training Program that helps dogs who have lost hope and trust find their way back to happiness and love.
After months of training and rehabilitation by SAS staff, volunteers and the animal behaviorist, Beacon started to trust being touched and handled. Within no time at all he was full of life and optimism, and adored being patted, hugged and played with. He no longer minded being left alone and even relaxed when approached by strangers.
During this time, Ella and David P. were searching for a companion pet as they had just lost their beloved cat of twenty-five years. Ella had always been a cat person, but when she saw Beacon’s face on the SAS adoption site, something told her that Beacon needed her just as much as she might need him. They visited the shelter with Dave’s dog Lucy, (another SAS rescue) to meet Beacon, but Lucy was afraid of Beacon. Disappointed, they decided not to adopt Beacon in hopes that maybe another animal might make a heart connection with Ella.
But Ella could not forget Beacon. They talked about bringing him home and into their lives and finally after two weeks decided to try again. That day Lucy fell in love with her new brother and Beacon became Max. After months and months of waiting, he had finally found his forever home.
“He is the light of my life. He knows that it takes me a while to go down the stairs, and he waits for me every time. He loves cuddling on the couch. He is so patient and is such a loving gentleman. He is even teaching Lucy manners! He is very cordial with our big Siamese cat and quite frankly, we can’t remember our lives before he came home with us. We feel so blessed that he is part of our family. Thank you to everyone that saved our Max. We are all so grateful.”
In 2009, former Seattle Animal Shelter Foundation President Julie Pitt (2015 – 2016) met with SAS Deputy Director Kara Main-Hester over a glass of wine, to discuss how to save the lives of animals who have troubled pasts, have lost hope, and will no longer trust humans. They formulated a plan which involved creating an animal behavior training program based on positive reinforcement, love and patience. SAS enlisted animal behaviorists from the University of Washington to develop a pilot program. The SASF funded Behavorial Training Program launched in 2016 with great success. Since then SASF donations have helped save over 166 dogs with behavioral issues, enabling these last chance animals to love, be loved and find their forever homes.