All dogs deserved to be treated like the very good pups they are, so it’s no surprise an adorable shelter dog loves being tucked into bed every night.
Prince lives in a shelter run by Mohawk Hudson Humane Society, where he first arrived, terrified and shaking, in April this year.
The two-year-old Pit bull had been passed between owners before running away when he was being walked one day. No one knew where he’d run to, but he was eventually picked up by animal control and taken to the shelter.
Take a look at his bedtime ritual here:
The staff managed to get in touch with the dog’s owner at the time, and although they said they’d come for Prince, they never turned up to take him home.
I don’t think they deserved Prince anyway!
The poor dog seemed extremely nervous at the shelter, possibly because he was having trouble adjusting, or simply because of his unstable past.
Nancy Haynes, director of behaviour and enrichment at Mohawk Hudson Humane Society, spoke to The Dodo about Prince.
She explained:
He took a long time to warm up to us. Even when you approached his kennel, he would sit in the back and cower and shake.
You would usually find him curled up in a ball at the back of his kennel.
After doing what they could to make Prince feel more at home, the staff stumbled upon a treat the dog loved; being tucked into bed.
Nancy continued:
One of the staff members was just snuggling with him in the kennel … and he got up on the bed and a staff member just tucked a blanket around him, and kind of realised, ‘Oh, he really likes this. It makes him feel comfortable’.
Adorable Prince quickly became used to his new routine, and obediently hops into bed ready to be wrapped in his blanket.
Nancy revealed:
It’s just become a thing with him. He usually doesn’t get onto his bed until somebody does their rounds and approaches his kennel … but if you go into the kennel with him, he’ll go onto the bed to get tucked in.
Snuggles are his absolute favourite thing. He lives for that. When you go into his kennel with him, he’s licking your face, he’s moaning and grunting when you scratch his butt. It’s just pure happiness for him.
Prince’s initial weariness has meant he hasn’t been able to find his permanent home just yet, but Nancy believes the extra one-on-one time he’s been getting recently has helped his behaviour.
She said:
He doesn’t show well in his kennel, so if somebody that he doesn’t know approaches his kennel, he can bark and be reactive. But since he’s been getting so much one-on-one attention, his reactivity has decreased tremendously.
He’s relatively easy. He walks nicely on a leash. He’s smart. He’s very easily trained. He’s energetic, but not too high-energy. So he would make a really great companion for somebody.
Hopefully Prince will find his new family soon – although they’ll have to be good at tucking him into bed!
If you have a story you want to tell, send it to stories@unilad.co.uk.
Emily Brown first began delivering important news stories aged just 13, when she launched her career with a paper round. She graduated with a BA Hons in English Language in the Media from Lancaster University, and went on to become a freelance writer and blogger. Emily contributed to The Sunday Times Travel Magazine and Student Problems before becoming a journalist at UNILAD, where she works on breaking news as well as longer form features.