Shy dog’s confidence blooms in foster home

After an exhilarating hike through the red rocks of St. George, Utah, Bebe climbs up on the couch with gentle grace for an afternoon snooze next to Samantha Hall, her foster caregiver. It’s a simple moment that shows monumental progress. Not so long ago, the speckly black-and-white dog spent her time wary of people, unsure whether she wanted to be in the same room, let alone relax on the couch next to someone.

Bebe came to Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in Kanab, Utah, from a shelter and has slowly bloomed into her curious personality. Best Friends’ goal is for all shelters across the country to reach no-kill, and that means working together with other animal welfare organizations to save pets’ lives, giving each one what they need to move out of the shelter and into a happy new life.

In the Sanctuary’s Dogtown, where on any given day hundreds of dogs are cared for in their home-between-homes, Bebe hovered on the sidelines, observing her four-legged friends romp and play.

“Bebe was reserved. She wasn’t sure how to interact with other dogs or people,” Best Friends caregiver Crysteena Tillie says.

Helping a shy dog spice up his social life

Bebe found new experiences difficult to navigate. She co-existed with the dogs she lived with, but she didn’t actively seek them out to spend time with them. Likewise, she was hesitant about making new human friends, which could make it hard to stand out to potential adopters.

Even as time went by, her confidence levels remained the same, despite caregivers’ attempts to coax her out of her shell. So they came up with a new plan that involved a change of scenery.

Meanwhile, Samantha was grieving the loss of her beloved dog, but she wanted to pay that love forward and help a dog in need. So she reached out to Best Friends about fostering, and soon Bebe was headed home with her. Samantha’s home would give Bebe a quiet, comfortable space where the team hoped she could settle and come out of her shell.

The first few days Bebe spent in Samantha’s home were filled with cautious curiosity. Everything was new — and maybe a little scary because of that newness. But she found a “safe spot” on an area rug where she could relax.

Samantha’s patience, along with the quiet and slow pace of her home environment, created a safe place for Bebe to bloom like a flower with the help of the warm sunshine. “Right at that three-month mark was when she really started to come out of her shell and seemed to have a breakthrough,” Samantha says. “She barked for the first time and started picking up toys."

No longer living on the sidelines, Bebe also discovered her love for playing in water with the hose. She even ventured out from her “safe spot” on the area rug to test out what a snuggle on the couch with Samantha was like.

Today, Bebe still approaches situations with cautious curiosity, but there’s a quiet confidence in the mix, too. She now initiates meetings with other people on her own, with curious sniffs and tail wags instead of pulling away to watch at a distance.

As she continued to bloom, she met lots of new friends with Samantha, including kids and horses, and nothing seemed to faze her. The duo also went on hiking trips to trails in the area, further broadening Bebe’s horizon. Bebe even built a friendship with Samantha’s neighbor and his two dogs, sometimes going over to their home for a visit and climbing right into bed with them to cuddle. All these experiences have been life-changing for Bebe.

Making magic happen for a shy dog

“Fostering has been so rewarding, and I hope more people can experience how it can impact animals,” Samantha says.

How did it impact Bebe? Well, she was recently adopted into a home of her own. She went home a more confident and relaxed pup rather than the scared girl who first came to the Sanctuary. Thanks to the security of her foster home, she learned that curiosity can be brave — and that the best kind of confidence doesn’t have to be loud.

Our goal at Best Friends is to support all animal shelters in the U.S. in reaching no-kill. No-kill means saving every dog and cat in a shelter who can be saved, accounting for community safety and good quality of life for pets. 

Shelter staff can’t do it alone. Saving animals in shelters is everyone’s responsibility, and it takes support and participation from the community. No-kill is possible when we work together thoughtfully, honestly, and collaboratively.