Faces of No-Kill: Ballerina and pup help heal each other

What makes a best friend? Everyone has their own definition, but it usually goes something like this: A best friend is someone who supports you through life’s highs and lows. Someone you turn to first. Someone who accepts you exactly as you are. For Eloise, that person is Lauren. And for Lauren, that person (or rather, dog) is Eloise.

Eloise is a tan-and-white pup with huge pointy ears, expressive brown eyes, and the happiest smile. She is currently 2 years old but was just a puppy when she arrived at the Best Friends Lifesaving Center in New York from a shelter in Virginia. The Best Friends team got her up to date on vaccines and sent her to a comfy foster home where she could catch her puppy breath and get ready for this next stage of life.

Although Eloise could be playful and snuggly, she was incredibly skittish. The little pup had a bright life ahead of her — she just needed someone who could help her find her confidence.

[A story of love and learning with an anxious dog]

Meanwhile, Lauren was navigating her own new beginning. The 19-year-old had recently left the ballet world. Until that point, her life had revolved around dance. Now, her future, which once seemed so certain, was a question mark.

“I just felt a lack of direction in my life. I had lost what I worked basically my whole life for,” says Lauren. “I also really missed having a reason to move my body every day and a structured schedule with things I really looked forward to.”

That’s when a puppy on the Best Friends website caught her eye.

Lauren knew some puppy playtime would cheer her up. So she and a friend went to the lifesaving center to meet the pup she had seen online, who looked just like her childhood dog. But when another family was already visiting with that puppy, Best Friends staff asked whether she’d like to meet Eloise — who had just returned from her foster home.

Their connection was instant.

“She seemed so scared,” says Lauren, recalling their first meeting. But Eloise quickly made herself comfortable. “She immediately (curled up and) fell asleep in my arms.”

Lauren hadn’t planned on adopting a pet that day, so she went home to think about it. But truthfully, her mind was already made up. She went back first thing the next morning, and Eloise was headed home.

Adjusting to life with an anxious pup took time. Lauren adopted Eloise in October, and at first, they couldn’t take walks around the neighborhood because Eloise was so frightened of the Halloween decorations. She was also nervous around other dogs, especially when it came to “protecting” her food or toys.

But instead of giving up, Lauren leaned in.

“I think the most special part of our bond is that I had the opportunity to really understand what triggered her and what she struggled with,” says Lauren. “Now I know how to keep her happy and safe.”

[Anxious dog goes home with his kindred spirit]

With a predictable routine in place, Eloise started to gain confidence. It warmed Lauren’s heart as she watched her sweet pup become more comfortable in her own fur. And as Lauren helped Eloise grow, she realized that her dog was helping her, too.

“Working with Eloise on her confidence helped me so much with my own anxiety,” she says.

Both of them were restarting their lives — and they were doing it together.

These days, Eloise and Lauren are inseparable. They go everywhere and do everything as a pair, whether it’s riding the train, jogging at the beach, or going on hikes (even if Eloise insists that Lauren carry her toward the end).

For a young woman restarting her life, Eloise turned out to be the constant companion that Lauren didn’t know she needed.

“Eloise and I definitely comfort each other, and we rely on each other in different ways,” says Lauren. “Adopting her was genuinely the best decision I’ve ever made.”

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.