*Milo

*Milo’s family had a matter of days to escape their home with the perpetrator due to be released from custody with only a day’s notice. There was a lot of emotion and tension when our Caseworkers picked up Milo to take him to safety, with children crying as the New Zealand Police helped the family leave their home. Milo was exceptionally stressed, not really understanding what was happening and why the only home he had ever known was being packed up and he was being taken away from his family. When Milo arrived at the Pet Refuge shelter our team helped him destress in a calm environment before joining the other pets, to help him settle into his new temporary home and routines.

He was initially anxious and didn’t want to participate in any activities, he would rather stay in his kennel cuddling his blanky. With time, training, patience and enrichment Milo started to learn new positive behaviours and began enjoying his time with staff. Milo was recently reunited with his family and as a challenging dog on arrival, we notified our flight team that he could be anxious around new people. However, when he arrived at the airport for his flight home, he was overjoyed to see new faces and loved their pats. He even thanked them by giving them a big lick on their face!

Milo’s transformation from being anxious and unsociable to outgoing and joyful is a true testament to how incredible our staff are at helping pets heal and live their best safe lives