Dog Goes From Sneaking Cheeseburgers Off the Streets to Warm Home with Plenty of Food

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Thelma originally came to stay with us at PAWS Shelter in April of 2020. She and her dog friend Louise had been living below the radar at a water treatment facility in San Antonio, Texas, where they had managed to befriend the facility’s workers from afar.

The two pups were much too timid to approach the men, but, for months, they continued buying a couple of extra cheeseburgers on their lunch breaks to toss to them, and would leave dog kibble and water bowls out overnight in hopes that, eventually, Thelma and Louise would trust them enough to come say “hi” up close.

The facility workers decided to enlist the help of local animal lovers and, sure enough, that “hopefully someday” finally came; the girls crept up to the dog-savvy Good Samaritans and were able to be leashed – Thelma and Louise were on their way to living the Good Life! They spent nearly a year at a local farm-style sanctuary before we found them and took them into PAWS.

Almost as soon as she arrived, Louise was out the door and on her way home with a fabulous fur-ever family. But her less confident pal, Thelma, was left waiting. And waiting. And waiting. For 4 months, PAWS staff worked to build Thelma’s confidence around people and finally, the perfect family came along and fell in love!

After spending what we can only assume was the majority of her life thus far on the streets just trying to survive, Thelma was officially given a chance to really live. We hear she still gets the occasional cheeseburger, only now, when her tummy is full and her eyes are heavy, she gets to rest on a cozy dog bed instead of a gravel parking lot and dream of a tomorrow full of adventures with her very own family. It just doesn’t get much better than that for us shelter workers!

Story submitted by Michelle Bender.