One of the Center’s longest tenured residents found his forever family two weeks ago. Donner, a one and a half year old Labrador-Retriever blend, had spent most of his life at Helen Woodward Animal Center. He had come to the Center from one of our rescue partners in Louisiana. The five-month-old at the time Donner made the over 1500 mile journey with several siblings. At the time, nobody could have imagined he’d spend the next year in the Center’s care.
The Center’s first introduction to a Five-month-old Donner.
Donner first became available at the beginning of November, 2023. Despite being an incredibly handsome Labrador-Retriever blend getting a lot of attention and going on a fair amount of “shows” — one on one meetings between potential adopters and the animals they’re interested in — no one ever wanted to take him home. At first, the Center’s adoption staff couldn’t possibly fathom why people were skipping on Donner. In all interactions with him he was incredibly sweet, and he got along great with other dogs. He wasn’t the easiest to take on walks but the staff figured it was probably because he was in a new place and needed some time to get used to his environment.
Only, Donner’s resistance to walks continued, even as his stay at the Center turned from weeks to months. The adoptions staff discovered he was incredibly shy around everyone — even the animal care technicians who knew him the best. When potential adopters expressed interest in him, his own anxiety left him terrified at their meetings and the adopters would pursue other puppies. It seemed like he was doomed to blow any and every chance at a happily ever after.
But Helen Woodward Animal Center doesn’t give up on orphan pets that easy. The Center brought in their partners, San Diego Pet Training, to work on Donner’s shyness and anxiety. Everyday they would take him on walks around the Center and introduce him to all the employees and volunteers. Initially, his walks would take hours as anytime he’d encounter somebody new he’d cower in fear and refuse to move. As the walks continued, Donner grew more and more comfortable with the layout of the Center and all its employees. He was still far from being a social butterfly, but he could get around without wincing every time somebody new crossed his path.
As Donner was starting to open up to the world around him, a kind and patient San Diego couple decided he was the missing piece to his family. He went home with them a little over a year after he first came to the Center, where he’s been living happily ever after since.
