Aggressive dog shows his true colors after being rescued from abusive owner
Abuse can leave a severe mark on a pet. It can leave them depressed, untrusting, and in some cases aggressive. This is because abuse and neglect cause fear in the dogs suffering from it, which in turn causes them to lash out. Once a dog has been abused to such a severe point, it’s very hard to rehabilitate them.
Fortunately, for one aggressive dog on the island of Crete in Greece, one man was determined to not give up on him.
Theoklitos Proestakis works with stray animals in his area
Theoklitos Proestakis (AKA Takis) works with stray animals, as well as abused and neglected pets. A former disc jockey and night club owner, Takis decided to work with dogs after he visited the area dump and saw the high number of strays living there. Soon, he was working with the city’s strays to rehabilitate them and give them somewhere to live.
Purchasing 108,000 square feet of land, Taxis moved the dogs from the dump to his property. He also worked with the stray cats in the area to give them a home. Soon, he had hundreds of animals on his property. He pays for everything through donations from his supporters online and the public.
Takis takes on a very aggressive dog
The dog in this story had suffered a great deal of abuse and neglect at the hands of his owner. It became so bad that the dog no longer trusted humans and showed aggression to any human he came into contact with. The dog came into Takis’ care after the police confiscated the poor, abused dog when they received a complaint about his mistreatment at the hands of his owner.
The police contacted Takis about taking the dog, named Phoenix. Takis agreed, and soon he was at the shelter to pick Phoenix up. Initially, Phoenix was so fearful of Takis that he wouldn’t let him near him. He would growl and try to bite his hand any time he tried to touch him.
Takis, though, was determined to show Phoenix that he wasn’t there to hurt him.
Phoenix finally comes around
After many hours, Phoenix allowed Takis to pet him. As Takis touched Phoenix for the first time, the normally aggressive dog calmly stood by. Phoenix must have been craving the attention of a kind human touch as he was soon laying his head on Takis’ hand.
Phoenix accepts a human’s touch once again
This was the beginning of a beautiful friendship. And while it took Phoenix some time to adjust totally to the touch of a human, eventually he and Takis became best friends. Phoenix was moved to Takis’ property where he learned to play with the other animals there.
About ‘Takis Shelter’
And while this story was initially heartbreaking, the end result is a perfect example of what a little patience can do for an abused animal. Without someone like Takis, abused dogs like Phoenix have little chance of knowing what love really is.
For more on Takis and his animal shelter, check out his organization’s Website. Watch the video below to see Phoenix go from an aggressive dog to one that knows kindness and love.
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H/T: We Love Animals, Upworthy