A senior dog with severe separation anxiety was able to finally relax after his owner found a unique way to comfort him while her husband was away.
A dog organisation that protects and advocates for homeless senior dogs in need has shared the unusual way they help their pooches with separation anxiety.
Many dogs experience separation anxiety at some point in their lives. It can be caused by lots of different things including a change of ownership, schedule, moving home, or even boredom.
It can be hard for dogs to learn to cope without their favourite humans around to give them comfort and cause them to become extremely frustrated, anxious, and unhappy.
This can then result in behavioural problems such as excessive barking, chewing, and going to the toilet inside.
For any good dog owner, this can be heartbreaking and they will try to calm down their pooch using any means necessary.
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Married couple Marc and Kristen Peralta from Maine, US, met in 2013 at an animal shelter and it wasn’t long before the pair tied the knot. The pair founded their non-profit organisation in 2017 called Vintage Pet Rescue, and to date, have saved the lives of over 1056 dogs.
One of the lucky canines they rescued was Shorty, an adorable pug, who Marc adopted when he was just a few years old. The two went everywhere together, with Shorty even joining Marc on trips across the country for work.
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However, as Shorty got older and couldn’t travel as much, Marc was forced to leave him at home, which left the pooch inconsolable. Kristen told PEOPLE: “He won’t even calm down if I am holding him. In the past, I tried putting one of Marc’s shirts on a pillow, but it didn’t really work. I felt so helpless trying to calm him down when Marc was away.”
Concerned for 15-year-old Shorty, Kristen’s mum Joanne had the genius idea of buying a life-sized mannequin and dressing it to look like Marc. Putting on tattoo sleeves to replicate Marc’s ink, and putting the dummy in his worn clothes to give it his smell, they dubbed the mannequin Farc — ‘fake Marc’ — and gave it a try.
To their delight, Shorty fell in love with Farc and was soon snuggled up in its arms asleep, something that didn’t unusually happen when Marc was away. Kristen joked that although Marc was a little upset that his beloved dog could be fooled by a dummy, he was glad it gave him comfort.
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The adorable story was recently shared again by Vintage Pet Rescue on their Instagram page. They wrote: “We’ve been seeing our separation anxiety mannequin making the rounds again so we thought we’d give everyone the backstory.”
Kristen revealed that although Shorty has since passed away, Farc is still around to provide comfort and cuddles to any dog that needs it. They joked: “It’s a 24/7 job but he’s happy to do it! Thanks, Farc!”
People were delighted to see Farc in action and loved the beautiful story behind it. One user penned: “Hey whatever works! Thats some dedication right there yall.” And someone else added: “I love this sooooo much.” While a third wrote: “You are amazing. Thank you for all you do.”
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Sourse: www.express.co.uk
