Henry + Samantha Manuele

Henry was a wish I didn’t know I was making. I’ll never forget when my mom woke me up shouting, “There’s a dog on our porch!!” I jumped out of bed and sprinted outside. Henry proved difficult to catch, very skiddish and untrusting. After a few days of gaining his trust (through LOTS of hot dogs), he started to take steps in our house. I thought “this is it, we’ve done it,” until he got spooked and ran off. My road is 55mph with constant traffic, so we had a few restless nights, worried he’d be hit by a car. I set up a bed outside for Henry and woke up defeated when he didn’t appear on the camera. Until...my neighbor let us know she caught him in her garage. My mom and I grew attached to him and asked to say goodbye before he was transferred to Anita’s Swan’s Humane Society. Henry stayed at Anita’s for 3 weeks, during which I thought of nothing but him. I already had a 16-year-old Shih Tzu who didn’t get along with other dogs, so the thought of taking Henry in was a distant dream. But then…we decided to foster. Henry was not leash trained and froze up. Within a few days, he was walking by my side and within a few more running and playing with me. And even more of a miracle? My Shih Tzu doesn’t mind him! We were a foster fail when I finally signed the adoption papers. Henry has brought nothing but joy in my house, and it has been incredible to see his progress. He loves walks, prancing in the snow, and playing guard dog on the windowsill. Thank you to Anita’s for all the work you do to help these sweet animals!