In Winter of 2019, on a Friday afternoon, a guy came to the shelter with his two Cane Corsos. He wanted to drop off only his female dog who was 2 years old. Since neither of the dogs were neutered/spayed, we were suspicious about him being involved in puppy mills and convinced him to give us the male dog as well, so the male wouldn’t be lonely. The adoption forms and contracts were filled out, and we sent the two dogs to Tehran to get neutered/spayed. Since then, Fidel and Pawni became residents of the shelter.
Among the shelter’s volunteers, Reza Moghadam, became very close with Fidel and they formed a strong bond. Their weekly meet ups were a scene to watch. Fidel was a relatively aggressive dog. On Fridays when Reza would take him on a walk, Fidel would try to bite other dogs if his leash would allow him to reach them. He was a strong dog, and it was quite difficult to stop him when he went for it.
Who would have thought he would find a permanent home and a loving family so soon!
Ms. Sayeh Shahsavari, one of the supporters of Vafa, was looking for a dog to adopt. She visited the shelter in hopes of finding a dog she liked, but none of them caught her attention. That is until Farzad Shabanpour showed Fidel to her, and it was love at first sight.
I was always worried about Fidel’s behaviour. I was especially worried that he would cause trouble, but from the love and attention he received from Ms. Shahsavari, and with the calm and safety that he felt, he turned into an innocent angel! Fidel was mostly kept in the backyard to start, but slowly found his way indoors. All of these changes in Fidel’s personality and behaviour were a direct result of his amazing owner Ms. Shahsavari.
Beside Fidel, Ms. Shahsavari also adopted one of our old Terriers, Tommy. During the adoption process I asked her not to keep Tommy and Fidel alone together. I was concerned that Fidel might attack Tommy. However, later on, we saw their photos together. They were sleeping beside each other, eating together, and Tommy sometimes even begged Fidel to play with him!
Love and kindness play such an important role in dogs’ lives and can change them from being aggressive to a kind, quiet and loving family friendly dog.
Farah Azari
