When Peep came into rescue in March, she had a whole new language to learn.

Home. Kind hands. Leashes. Dishwasher noises. Treats offered just because. A soft bed. A lap. Someone calling your name and being happy when you come.

For a little dog whose early life in a hoarding situation hadn’t prepared her for those things, ordinary life was anything but ordinary.

But Peep is a remarkably good student.

After her puppies were weaned, Peep came to me as her second foster home. Her first foster mom had already given her an incredible gift: Peep had learned that a person could be safe.

When she came to my home, she had the opportunity to build on what she already knew.

There was a new house, new smells, new dogs, new sounds and another person she didn’t know. But this time Peep had something she hadn’t had before: experience. Somewhere inside that cautious little dog was already the knowledge that someone unfamiliar could become someone safe.

She was carried into my house in a crate, something she had little experience with. When the door opened and we encouraged her to come out, she scrambled from it, frightened and unsure. She had a long line attached to her collar so we could keep her safe, but even the feeling of a leash was unfamiliar.

She wasn’t being difficult. She simply didn’t understand what all these new things meant yet.

That first night, I let Peep sleep in my bed.

There was nothing she needed to accomplish there. No commands to understand. No expectations to meet. She could simply lie beside this new person in a quiet, warm place and discover that she was safe.

And something shifted.

She was still cautious. She might still scramble away from me during the day. But it didn’t take Peep long to recognize something she had learned once before:

I’m safe here. I can do this.

And she did.

Treats: The Universal Language

It turns out Peep has a wonderful secret weapon.

She loves food.

A hand belonging to someone she doesn’t know may give Peep a moment of uncertainty.

But a hand holding a treat?

Well, Peep is willing to discuss the matter.

Treats give Peep a way to engage with someone new without asking too much of her too soon. Her love of food helps curiosity overcome caution. She comes a little closer. She takes another treat. She sits nearby. She listens when that person talks to her.

And eventually, she discovers that those hands can offer more than treats.

A gentle pet on the head.

A scratch under the chin.

And, once she knows you, some pretty wonderful snuggles.

Little by little, an unfamiliar hand becomes a familiar hand. A familiar hand becomes a kind hand. And eventually, that kind hand becomes one Peep actually seeks out.

How long does that take?

Maybe a day or two. Maybe a week. Maybe a little longer.

Peep doesn’t keep a calendar.

She’s simply watching and learning.

And we’ve learned something important from Peep, too: trust doesn’t begin the first time she allows someone to pet her.

Sometimes trust begins when she chooses to stay in the room.

Or takes a treat.

Or sits beside someone.

Or listens when they ask her to sit.

Those little moments aren’t so little to Peep. They’re how relationships begin.

Recently, a friend came to visit. Peep wasn’t ready to be petted, and she was still cautious when my friend moved around the room. But give that visitor a little container of dog food to use as treats and suddenly Peep had a language they could both speak.

Peep stayed engaged with her. She sat near her. She took treats. When my friend asked her to sit and lie down, Peep happily did both.

Was Peep ready for a snuggle?

Nope.

Was she beginning a relationship with someone new?

Absolutely.

That’s progress.

Sometimes the Best Teacher Has Four Legs

Peep has also had a pretty wonderful teacher in my own dog, Huckleberry.

Huckleberry was adopted from Small Breed Rescue and, like Peep, originally came from a hoarding situation. He entered rescue as a 10-week-old puppy, so his journey was different from hers. Today he’s a happy little dog who loves and trusts his mom completely.

And Peep watches him.

She sees Huckleberry come to me without hesitation. She sees him ask for affection. She watches him relax, play and enjoy being part of a family.

His confidence helps give Peep confidence.

Sometimes another dog can show her something that a human simply can’t explain:

Watch me. We’re okay here.

And Peep watches.

And learns.

And somewhere along the way, teacher and student became great playmates.

I’ve seen the same thing when Peep visits my uncle’s house. My uncle was once a new and somewhat scary person to her. But he knows one of the quickest routes to Peep’s heart—plenty of treats.

With Huckleberry along, Peep relaxes. Before long, she and Huckleberry are playing.

That’s a pretty remarkable thing when you think about it.

Peep can go somewhere unfamiliar, spend time with someone she is still learning, take reassurance from a dog she trusts and become comfortable enough to play.

She’s not just learning how to manage new experiences.

She’s learning how to enjoy them.

Meet the Peep We Know Today

If you only knew Peep by where she came from, you wouldn’t really know Peep at all.

The little dog who once scrambled away from me now wants to climb under the covers at bedtime and snuggle right against me.

When we’re watching television, she loves to curl up in my lap or settle into her favorite spot just behind my head on the sofa.

She loves when I reach over and pet her.

She loves my silly baby talk.

She loves playing with Huckleberry.

And she’s a good girl. When some of the other dogs decide they’d rather stay outside and suddenly develop selective hearing, Peep is often the one who comes right in when she’s called.

She’s sweet.

She’s smart.

She’s playful.

She’s affectionate.

And she is incredibly resilient.

There will be new things for Peep to learn when she finds her family. A new person will initially be just that—a new person. A new house will have different sounds, smells and routines.

But Peep won’t be starting over.

She’ll be building on everything she already knows.

She learned to trust her first foster mom.

Then she came here and learned that another person could be safe, too.

She’s gone to my uncle’s house and learned that an unfamiliar place can become comfortable enough to play in.

She’s met visitors and learned that she can interact with someone new without having to be touched before she’s ready.

She’s learned that unfamiliar sounds become ordinary sounds.

She’s learned that hands bring treats and affection.

She’s learned that a person’s voice can become one she loves to hear.

She’s learned that a lap is a pretty nice place to spend an evening and that burrowing under the covers next to someone you love is an excellent way to sleep.

Peep knows how to learn people now.

It’s Time for Peep

Peep has been in rescue since March, and she has gained so much confidence.

This isn’t the story of a frightened little dog we’re hoping might someday learn how to live in a home.

She’s already learned.

Now she needs someone willing to give her the opportunity to bring everything she’s learned into a home of her own.

Her person doesn’t have to be a particular kind of person. They don’t need some magical ability with frightened dogs.

They just need to understand Peep.

If she takes a treat from you but isn’t ready for you to pet her, that’s okay.

If she sits beside you but moves away when you stand up, that’s okay too.

Don’t look at those moments and think, She doesn’t like me.

Look at the little dog who chose to sit beside you and think:

We’re getting somewhere.

Because you are.

Give Peep the opportunity, and there’s a whole lot of dog waiting to show herself—the one who wants affection, plays with her dog friends, listens when you call her, curls up with you on the sofa and burrows under the covers at night because she wants to be as close to her person as possible.

We call dogs “rescued” when we take them out of the place where they weren’t safe. But sometimes rescue continues afterward, quietly, in hundreds of ordinary moments.

A treat offered from an outstretched hand.

A gentle scratch under the chin.

A game with another dog.

A quiet night under the covers.

A voice that becomes familiar.

A person who becomes her person.

Peep has already learned that an unfamiliar place can become a safe place and someone she doesn’t know can become someone she loves.

She’s not starting over.

She’s ready for what’s next.

And this time, what’s next is home

It’s time for Peep. ❤️