Traumatized Dog Can’t Stop Clinging To Her Rescuers

“The place is pretty much a dumping ground of dogs,” Olivieri told The Dodo. “People just leave them there.”

Another organization called Redland Rock Pit Abandoned Dog Project visits The Redlands every day to feed the homeless dogs there. It goes through about 350 pounds of kibble to feed approximately 100 dogs, Jessie Pena, vice president of the group, told The Dodo.

However, there are more dogs than it can help, Pena explained.

“There are thousands of dogs out there,” Pena said. “We only cover a small area. Redland is huge.”

This February, Furever Bully Love Rescue teamed up with Redland Rock Pit to raise money for dog food, but also to rescue a few dogs in the area. Olivieri, as well as three other volunteers from Furever Bully Love Rescue, traveled to The Redlands to meet volunteers from the other group.

For Olivieri, it was an experience she’ll never forget.

“We pulled onto this dirt road, it was all remote,” Olivieri said. “You would never find it on your own.”

When volunteers from Redland Rock Pit started putting out food, dogs started to appear. That’s when rescuers spotted Harper, a 1-year-old hound mix. The volunteers had seen her before on previous visits to The Redlands – they believed she’d lived in the field for about four or five months.

Besides clearly being terrified of people, Olivieri noticed Harper had scars on her head and back.

“She was definitely abused and neglected,” Olivieri said. “There was no way we were going to leave her there.”

“We had to pick Harper up,” Olivieri said. “We didn’t even put her in a crate at this point, so we put a blanket on the floor.”

But Harper’s fear issues would take a lot longer to heal.

“For about three days, she never stood up,” Olivieri said.

And when anyone picked up Harper, she clung to them like her life depended on it.

“I had never had a dog hold onto me so tight,” Jennifer Adorno, the president of Furever Bully Love Rescue, told The Dodo.

Since Furever Bully Love rescue doesn’t have a physical shelter, Harper went straight into foster care with a woman name Cheryl Kessler. Harper’s only been with Kessler for a few weeks, but Kessler’s already seeing a huge change in her.

“Every day she does better and better,” Olivieri said. “She’s becoming more of a dog – she’s learning that she’s going to get food every day, and that she’s going to get love every day.”

Harper will be up for adoption in about five months. If you’d like to adopt her, or one of Furever Bully Love Rescue’s other dogs, get in touch with them. Redland Rock Pit Abandoned Dog Project also has plenty of homeless dogs who need homes available on its website.