Abandoned German Shepherd Getting A Bath From A Kind Shelter Worker Is Told She’s A Good Girl For The First Time
Her reaction showed that the kindness was returned.
Korneeva Kristina / Shutterstock All animals deserve love and affection. Unfortunately, some receive the exact opposite.
It often falls on shelter workers to show these animals their first bit of real kindness. This was true for one dog who made her way to an animal shelter that was visited by Rocky Kanaka.
An abandoned German shepherd was called a 'good girl' for the first time by an animal shelter worker.
Rocky Kanaka is an actor who works with many charitable endeavors involving animals and animal shelters. His YouTube series “Sitting with Dogs” features him spending time with animals in shelters to raise money to help care for them and bring awareness to the need for pet adoption.
Kanaka recently visited a shelter that had just taken in an abandoned German shepherd. He helped one of the shelter’s employees, Mel, care for the dog. He filmed Mel giving the dog her first bath in a long time.
“She’s so thin,” Mel observed with dismay as she took in the dog’s bony frame.
Kanaka lifted the dog into a tub where Mel set to work bathing her. “You can tell she’s a little bit nervous about this, but she’s so sweet,” he said. “She didn’t put up a fight at all.”
During her bath, Mel noted that the dogs’ ears had been attacked and infected by flies. She also had sores on her legs and her fur stood on end, a sign of dehydration.
Mel took loving care of the dog as she cleaned her. She gently rubbed special medicated lotion into her fur and took extra time to make sure the dog was comfortable. “It is no wonder these dogs just fall in love with Mel whenever they come through here because she grooms them with so much love and care,” Kanaka remarked.
Photo: Kosheleva_Kristina / Canva Pro
Commenters agreed. "Mel is an absolute angel," said one. "So glad that you guys have someone like Mel that is able to show them love and care so they feel safe," wrote another.
While the German Shepherd’s bath must have felt wonderful after going so long without one, something truly special happened immediately after. As Mel was drying the dog off with a towel, she called her a “good girl.” This was the first time she had ever been told that.
The dog’s reaction was visible. Her eyes squinted, almost as if in a big smile. She leaned in further to Mel’s towel and arms, showing that the affection was reciprocated.
After the bath, Kanaka asked Mel if she had decided on a name for the dog. She chose Macy. As soon as Kanaka referred to her by the name, Macy’s eyes grew wide, signaling her acceptance.
Mel also trimmed Macy’s nails and noted their softness. According to Kanaka, “Her nails are super soft, not like a normal dog nail that’s really hard, which makes sense because malnourishment would mean the nutrients aren’t there for things like her fur, her coat, [and] her nails.”
After her grooming was complete, Macy was placed in a kennel where she had plenty of room to move around. Kanaka went to visit her and explained that while she wasn’t ready to be adopted yet, she would be soon.
According to the ASPCA, an estimated 6.3 million pets are taken in by animal shelters in the United States each year. Unfortunately, Macy was one of those pets.
But, she was lucky to have kind people like Mel and Kanaka caring for her and doing everything possible to make sure she could find a forever home.
Mary-Faith Martinez is a writer for YourTango who covers entertainment, news, and human interest topics.