00:00Ralphie was found as a stray on Christmas of 2021 and then spent three straight years in the shelter.
00:06While living at the shelter, Ralphie was really struggling.
00:09He didn't get along well with other dogs or with men.
00:11He was so scared in there.
00:14Evanston Animal Shelter asked me to bring him home and assess him.
00:19At first, everything new seemed to be scary for him.
00:23Run away! Run away!
00:25He was really shy and pretty on edge in my home.
00:29They weren't sure if he would ever be able to have a dog friend.
00:32But slowly, with some tasty snacks and some bribing,
00:37Ralphie was introduced to the wonderful world around him,
00:40learning to play with toys.
00:51Once Ralphie had decompressed, I decided it was time to very slowly introduce him
00:56to my dog, Winnie, and see if he could make a dog friend.
01:01At first, I let them just get used to sharing space.
01:04What, Ralph?
01:04I always rewarded him and Winnie when they were able to calmly be by each other.
01:09Can you do a condom?
01:10I'm just fine.
01:16Slobbering all over.
01:17He soon got used to doing his own thing with Winnie in the same room,
01:20and I could see him become more comfortable.
01:22Winnie, Boobah.
01:23Look!
01:27Oh my god.
01:30You're so weird.
01:32What do you think?
01:34We then moved on to muzzled walks for everyone's safety.
01:39Come on.
01:40After some awkward and highly supervised sniffing sessions,
01:48No, no, no, no, tell him I suck!
01:51I was really relieved that they seemed to be coexisting pretty well.
01:55I just didn't know if they would ever play together and really enjoy each other.
02:02Until one day, an awkward sniffing session actually turned into a goofy little play bow.
02:09Walking in the city with Winnie and a dude.
02:12After he successfully made his first ever dog friend,
02:14I decided to slowly work on his more deep-seated fear of men.
02:18A winnie and a god.
02:21A dude.
02:22A dude and a dog.
02:24He started to warm up a bit and let men touch him, pet him.
02:30And eventually he fell deeply in love with my boyfriend.
02:33Blooping everywhere.
02:34We were both very proud of his progress and how brave he was being.
02:41He slowly learned that new things can be exciting and not too scary after all.
02:48I've been fostering him for almost 30 months now and I love him to death.
02:55He's the funniest dog I've ever met in my life.
03:01But his ideal forever home is just one that's a bit less chaotic than mine.
03:06Ralphie would thrive in any adult-only home.
03:08Or the people there are willing to earn his trust.
03:12He is so worth it.
03:19He really is so easy day to day.
03:22He's quiet in his crate.
03:23He's potty trained.
03:24Wonderly behaved around the house.
03:39And he'll make you laugh every single day.
03:41He'll make you laugh every single day.
03:46Yeah.
03:46He's a actress.
03:47Shhhh.
03:48Yeah.
03:53Shit.
03:54Shit.
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