/ As seen in the TRIPPIN’ issue
Editor’s note: We recently received a message from a proud mama that thrilled us:
Dear Unleash, Beatrice is a reader of your magazine, and we recently ordered four back issues for her to dive into. She always has at least one Unleash Magazine with her for reading at restaurants, in the car, or wherever there might be a quiet moment. For years she has collected photos of animals in need of adoption, and she is so proud to now be the mommy to her first ever rescue pet! Acorn came from a hoarder home with 50 cats and 30 dogs, we are working to socialize him to his new life where everything is brand new to him … I wanted to share with you the appreciation my daughter has for your magazine.
WOW! What an amazing kiddo! We greatly appreciate Beatrice’s love for animals, commitment to adoption, and affinity for Unleash! We had to hear more about her newly adopted dog …
/ By Beatrice, Age 10
Acorn is our newly adopted dog, we got him from S.A.F.E Pet Rescue in St. Augustine on July 10. He is a Jack Russell-mix that is around one year old. We adopted him because he was the only dog at the shelter that would let us pet him, and he was playing with the other dogs in his run instead of barking at us. He seemed happy and calm, so we brought him home as a foster and then a few days later we decided to adopt him. Acorn is surprisingly mellow for a Jack Russell Terrier. Among his favorite things are sleeping, playing, and bone chewing. I enjoy training Acorn, walking him, playing and cuddling with him. In just two months, he has learned sit, lay down, wait, sit pretty, crawl, and roll over! Together we play fetch and frisbee, one time I was playing fetch with him and he was trying to go after the ball at the same time he had another ball in his mouth. We are still working on him catching the frisbee in his mouth.
When we first brought him home from the shelter, he was afraid of the slightest things, like a grocery bag, blinds suddenly opening, palm fronds swaying in the yard, trash cans on trash day, his own shadow and reflection, and some new people. Since bringing him home, almost all of these fears have diminished. When he first meets new people I have to ask them not to reach down and pet him at first because he is handshy. Once he has the chance to sniff feet and feel secure he is much more willing to be petted. This has taught me that some dogs are shy when they first meet new people and not to go straight down and pet them and to always ask before petting a dog.
Recently, we took Acorn to North Carolina and he loved it. He was climbing on the rocks like a mountain goat. He enjoyed hiking and if we tried to turn around on a hike Acorn would just stand there and look at us like, please let me keep hiking. It was so cute! Acorn was so good during the car ride to North Carolina—he didn’t whine, whimper, or bark on any of the long car rides.
Having Acorn in my life has made everything better by a vigintillion. I think if Acorn could talk he would say the same. •
