Having trust issues happens for a reason.

When the world is cruel to you, sometimes it pays to be cautious and on your guard.

Of course, it’s hard to know when to stop.

This is precisely what a stray in Washington state went through. The emaciated dog caught the eyes of the locals, who reported it to Lost & Found Pets Washington State.

It had barely any fat or muscle on it.

What’s more, it did not want to be approached at all. Lost & Found Pets told the story on their Facebook page.

Amanda Guarascio and Dylan Parkinson took charge of picking up the dog, and they had to get a bit creative too.

They named the dog “Baby Bear”, or just “Bear”.

They drove to the location and found the skinny (and I mean skinny) dog on the side of the road. They tried the obvious first, tempting him with food.

That didn’t work.

After a trip to grab lunch and pick up Amanda, they drove back to where the dog was and tried again. They brought bologna with them this time.

Well, not even juicy, tasty bologna could pique the dog’s curiosity. If that doesn’t get a dog’s attention, I don’t know what will.

Running out of ideas, Amanda hatched a plan.

She laid down on the grass near the dog and pretended to be injured.

It was working, but she had to keep it up a lot longer than this. Amanda patiently mimicked an injured person, even making groans and whimpers to get Bear’s attention.

Bear slowly but surely approached.

Amanda had to be patient. Though it was getting cold, she had to keep this up for as long as it needed. That turned out to be roughly an hour.

As she did this, she inched towards Bear little by little. The dog was slowly warming up to her, and Amanda felt now was the time to go for it. She got closer to Bear, who started growling out of suspicion.

She did some more whimpering and yawning to calm him down.

Finally, success!

Amanda got right next to him.

Amanda’s efforts definitely worked on Bear. Being very wary and suspicious just a while ago, Bear was now cuddling up next to Amanda.

Well, that was until a truck drove by and scared him off.

Fortunately, Bear didn’t run very far. Amanda and Dylan returned to the sight later that evening and found Bear was still there.

Not wanting to go through all that again, Amanda began stealthily tying a leash to the dog. Being dark, Amanda messed up a little bit, but Bear didn’t run off.

They took Bear to get some much-needed medical attention.

Things were finally starting to turn around for the lost, emaciated dog. He had to be carried there – Bear would not let Amanda put him down after being so starved of affection. Can you blame him?

And of course, they’d find him a home.

He went from starving on the streets to finding a new home. All it took was an hour of someone playing possum.

The good news is Bear did end up in a new home!

I’m sure Amanda and Dylan are ecstatic. Wherever he is now, I’m sure he won’t forget the unconventional rescue that he went through.

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Source: Lost and Found Pets WA State on Facebook, Useless Bay Sanctuary on Facebook, The Dodo