Curly Fry was found as an elusive stray who initially refused to be caught. It was only eventually through sheer exhaustion that he finally relented and allowed his rescuers to bring him to safety. When he arrived at PAWS Atlanta, he was reserved and nervous with people. He often flinched or cowered when our team tried to interact with him, so we took it slow, building trust day by day.

Overtime, hewas more willing to go for walks on the trail, but he began to show his anxiety more outwardly, barking and biting at his leash. Despite our best efforts, Curly Fry was quickly becoming overwhelmed. He was stressed in his kennel and outside of his kennel. It seemed as though there was nothing we could do to make him truly comfortable. So, out of sheer determination to save Curly Fry, two of our staff members took him home as a foster.

It took some time, but eventually his fosters began to see improvement. They worked with him daily with close assistance from our trainer, and he slowly transformed from the reactive and unhappy dog he'd been at the shelter into an affectionate, playful companion. While he was once reactive to other dogs, he began to warm up to the other dogs in the home. Eventually, he even helped a newer foster dog, Benji, acclimate to being indoors after years on the street. He was becoming the dog we knew he could be all along.

As a year in his foster home turned into almost two years, the PAWS team asked Curly Fry's fosters constantly about when they would adopt him. It was impossible not to notice how attached they'd become, and how much Curly Fry had grown to love them. We knew it was only a matter of time before it became official. He was clearly already part of the family. In February of this year, they finally signed the paperwork. Curly Fry was home for good!

While our staff loves every pet who comes through our doors, each of us finds a special bond with one of them along the way. It's rare to work at PAWS Atlanta for a period of time and not eventually bring a pet home, whether to foster or forever. These pets, like Curly Fry, are extra lucky, loved for their whole lives by the very people who saved them.