Rita

My story

Meet Rita! Rita’s story began with a family that relocated and abandoned their dogs in the outskirts of Dickson, leaving them to fend for themselves. Over the years, most of the dogs were caught adn found loving home, but Momma Rita proved elusive, disappearing long periods of time before reappearing in the same area again monthls later. She was easily recognized by the community due to the fact that somewhere in her years on her own, one of her legs sustained an injury and she stopped using it completely. She has given birth to numerous litters, which had been discovered and taken to rescues or given homes. In summer of 2023, we heard Rita's story for the first time when we received a call about a group of puppies living in a drain pipe, unapproachable and feral. They were nearly 3 months old at this point, and had never interacted with humans. With support from some shelter friends, Animal Control managed to capture all the puppies from this litter. The mom, who we have now named Rita, eluded capture. Despite efforts to trap her in the following weeks, Rita soon disappeared without any further sightings.  Fast forward nearly a year to spring of 2024, we were alerted to a feral mother dog with a hurt leg has given birth in the woods nearby where we got Rita’s last litter from. We suspected it was Rita resurfacing, but didn’t get excited until we investigated ourselves. We recieved a confirmed location where mom, pups, and an adult male where all spending their time. The description of mom matched Rita to a T, and the adult male is identical to the litter we received last year, so we firmly believed he was from that litter or one prior. With their location confirmed, and permission from the property owner, the litter of six puppies were secured and brought to our facility, and we set up our large live traps, praying we would catch the other two. After several close calls and late nights, we miraculously managed to trap both Rita and the other adult, and with the help of our dedicated volunteers they were transported into our care.  As we expected from a girl fending for herself for nearly ten years, Rita continues to struggle with her shyness when it comes to interacting with humans. Despite her reluctance to approach people, there is a glimmer of hope in her behavior when she is leashed. When she is on a leash, Rita's demeanor changes slightly as she begins to show signs of trust and affection. A small but meaningful gesture, Rita will tentatively wag her tail when offered pets and attention. This moment of connection is a breakthrough for Rita, as it indicates a willingness on her part to engage with humans and form a bond. While she still has a long way to go in overcoming her shyness, these small steps of progress are encouraging and show that Rita has the potential to become more comfortable and open with time and patience. While Rita will likely never become a snuggly, bubbly, typical dog, in her time with us we have fallen in love with her and we believe she deserves the chance to spend her golden years experiencing the comfort of a home. Rita is fully vetted, microchipped, and spayed. During her initial vetting, we learned that she was positive for a tick-borne disease called erlichiosis. We learned that untreated cases could exhibit themselves in inflamation of the joints, and promptly treated her illness. After treatment, Rita has regained complete use of her formerly lame leg. Although when the weather is particularly cold, or she runs around a little extra, we still see some tenderness, but nothing more than we would in any other dog her age.  Rita is always happiest when she is around other dogs, and has made some lifelong friends here in our care. If you already have any other pups in the home, bring them with you for the required meet and greet. If you don't, we would encourage you to consider bringing home one of her friends alongside this sweetie! Due to her skittish nature, Rita is considered a flight risk, so a fully fenced yard is required. Interested? Call us at 615-446-7387 ##2043293##

If you have any questions or would like to adopt Rita, please reach out to the adoption group directly. PetSmart Charities does not facilitate the adoption process. Thank you.