A man works hard for days to build a yard for a rescued dog.
“No one believed in him anymore.”
Some of us would stay away from rescuing pets with behavior problems. Maybe we have kids and want to make sure they are safe around the animal, or maybe we just don’t like the idea of all the stress and extra training that comes with an animal of this kind.
But a kind woman from Colorado was up for the challenge. She took in a dog who was described as “destructive, aggressive, and untrusting,” hoping that with time and love, this hard boy could change.
She introduced her dog to her boyfriend. At first, he said he didn’t like the dog very much, but then he did something nice that really shows that actions speak louder than words.
In Colorado Springs, KaTarra Taylor’s backyard was in need of a makeover for her dogs. She had just moved into a townhouse with her 120-pound rescue dog, and she knew he would love to play in a real yard.
Bentley, the Bloodhound, wasn’t the easiest dog to take care of. He had a hard past, so it’s not surprising that he had a lot of behavior problems. KaTarra was still working with him to train him, calm his anxiety, and stop his aggression. She knew that letting Bentley play on grass would help a lot.
The backyard was just a slab of concrete at first, but KaTarra’s selfless boyfriend did something special for her dog.
Even though KaTarra’s boyfriend didn’t like the rescue dog very much, he took it upon himself to fix up the backyard. He worked hard to replace the concrete slabs with grass that was good for dogs, and KaTarra was happy to share the whole thing on the Facebook group Dogspotting Society. She told me:
“I brought him in at four.” Everyone had given up on him by the time he moved in with me. He was bad, mean, and didn’t trust people. Even though I lived in a one-bedroom apartment, I couldn’t let him go back to the rescue after he didn’t do well at my parents’ house. I worked hard to teach him to walk on a leash, treat his anxiety, find the cause of his severe allergies and treat them, and stop him from being aggressive.’
KaTarra continued:
“I had to move, but I couldn’t find a single rental in that stupid city that would take my 120-pound bloodhound… I bought a townhouse instead. Since he’s been with me, he’s never had his own yard. On our walks, he’s only been in the park or on the grass.
“Well, my awesome boyfriend worked like a dog all weekend to build Bentley’s yard.
He hates the dog… We’re so lucky.’
Then, KaTarra showed her friends the pictures of her boyfriend working hard to fix up Bentley’s yard. First, he pulls up all of the tiles, and then he puts down the grass so the dog has a comfortable place to lie down. In the last photo, Bentley is relaxing in his new yard, and it’s clear that he loves it.
KaTarra’s boyfriend was so nice to give Bentley his own yard space, and we hope that KaTarra can work through Bentley’s behavior problems. We’re sure that his new yard will be a step in the right direction.