Prince was a trembling, shaking ball of anxieties when he first arrived at the shelter managed by the Mohawk Hudson Humane Society in New York.
Prince once belonged to someone, but when that person was unable to care for him, he moved in with his owner’s girlfriend. But even this was short-lived. Prince, a 2-year-old pit bull, slipped his leash one day while the girlfriend was walking him, and nobody knew where he was until animal control scooped him up and transported him to the shelter in April.
The girlfriend first promised to pick up Prince and take him home again when the shelter staff managed to get in touch with her. Prince has remained in the shelter ever since she failed to appear.
Perhaps Prince’s turbulent past was what made him so wary. Or perhaps he was having trouble adjusting to the shelter. Prince appeared to be afraid by whatever it was.
Nancy Haynes, director of behavior and enrichment at Mohawk Hudson Humane Society, told The Dodo that “he took a long time to warm up to us.” He would sit in the back of his kennel and tremble and shake even as you approached. He normally sat at the back of his kennel curled up in a ball.
The shelter staff eventually found something to make Prince feel more comfortable in the shelter — they realized he likеd being tucked in at night before the shelter staff went home.
“One of the staff members was just snuggling with him in the kennel … and he got up on the bed and a staff member just tucked a blanket around him, and kind of realized, ‘Oh, he really likеs this. It makes him feel comfortable,’” Haynes said.
