Success Stories of Animals that Needed a Little More TLC

Success Stories

Animals that Needed Extra TLC

Every day a life is changed for the better at Toronto Humane Society

Thousands of animals come into Toronto Humane Society’s care every year. They are helped, healed, and handed everything they need to live a happy and healthy life with those who love them. There are, however, some animals that need a little extra behavioural support.

At Toronto Humane Society, we lovingly refer to these animals as “TLC animals” as a reminder that they need solicitous care in order to improve their condition behaviourally. Here are just three animals that received the extra tender, loving care they needed before moving into their forever homes this year.

Gumaro

When Gumaro arrived in our care in 2019 from Mexico, he was just a young pup ready to conquer the world. But soon after his arrival we discovered that he had fractured his hind limb and required surgery. This was frustrating for a young, energetic pup like Gumaro.

During recovery he did not know how to control his pentup energy. He wanted to run, he wanted to greet as many people as possible – but he couldn’t. The old Gumaro would have barked and lunged, but with the help from our training team and his foster parents, Gumaro found other outlets to let out all his energy.

He spent over two years in our care learning new things. Every day his foster parents worked on brain games for mental enrichment. He brushed up on his house manners, improved his walks, and learned a few cool yoga poses.

In June, Gumaro found his perfect match with a special family that was willing to continue working with him to build his confidence with positive reinforcement techniques.

Mr. Meowgi

Mr. Meowgi was surrendered into our care because he started to display behavioural changes when his family had a baby. He began urinating on the couch and was aggressive when people were loud - including biting his female pet parent during her home birth and nipping their feet when they could not calm the baby.

Once in our care, Mr. Meowgi was placed into a foster home. He would display aggressive behaviour when his family left, or when they came back after leaving him for a period of time. After consulting a veterinarian behaviourist, Mr. Meowgi was diagnosed with separation anxiety - which is a rare diagnoses for cats.

Along with other behavioural techniques and medication, Mr. Meowgi’s foster parents became star clicker trainers to teach him tricks. Clicker training helps with general enrichment, but in this case, it also helped Mr. Meowgi develop communication skills. When he wasn’t getting what he wanted, he would act out, so they taught him how to “sit” or do a trick to get something.

After a year of support, training, and tons of treats, Mr. Meowgi was adopted in May.

Ventress and Thrawn

Ventress and Thrawn came into our care as a pair, but they needed some guidance on how to play nicely together. After receiving their neuter surgeries, thes e bunnies went on many re-bonding dates.

Thrawn was initially nervous around Ventress and would stomp at him, or flinch if he came too close too fast. Ventress would respect signals and walk away, but later would approach Thrawn for grooming which would cause a little scuffle.

After seven months of love and support from their Foster Parent and Training Assistant, their playdates grew from a few minutes to an hour and their behaviours toward each other improved. They were adopted as a pair in August.