Some dogs come to us with stories that are difficult to imagine. Tara is one of them.
Before Tara became a Labradors and Friends dog, she survived something we may never fully understand.
She was found trapped in a water trough in the backyard of an abandoned home. No one knows how she got there. No one knows how long she had been struggling.
We only know that when someone finally found her, only her head was above the water.
Found With Only Her Head Above Water
A neighbor spotted Tara and called Animal Control. She was removed from the property and taken to Riverside Shelter.
She had survived the water trough, but her ordeal wasn’t over.
Tara entered the shelter on June 22. Frightened and unsure, she found herself in another unfamiliar place, surrounded by noise, strangers, and everything that comes with life in a shelter.
And Then She Waited
Tara spent more than two months at the shelter waiting for someone to choose her.
But the frightened, shut-down dog people saw in the shelter wasn’t necessarily who Tara was. Fear had taken over, and the longer she remained there, the harder it became for her to show anyone the dog hiding underneath it.
Eventually, Tara was red-listed and scheduled to lose her life.
August 28 was supposed to be Tara’s last day.
Instead, it became the day everything changed.
The Day Everything Changed
Tara had already survived more than anyone should have asked of her. Now she needed someone to give her the one thing she couldn’t give herself:
A way out.
On August 28, Labradors and Friends said yes to Tara.
The dog who had survived being trapped in a water trough, spent more than two months waiting in a shelter, and was now out of time was finally leaving.
But rescue doesn’t magically erase everything that came before it. Tara didn’t walk out of the shelter suddenly understanding that she was safe.
She was still frightened. Still unsure. Still trying to make sense of a world that hadn’t given her many reasons to trust it.
And that’s okay.
We weren’t going to ask Tara to suddenly understand that everything had changed.
We were simply going to give her time.
Time Is Exactly What She Gets
Time to decompress.
Time to learn that people can be kind.
Time to discover that gentle hands don’t have to be frightening.
And most importantly, time to realize that no one is giving up on her.
Tara is currently in boarding, where our dedicated walking volunteers are spending time with her every day. They’re giving her consistency, patience, and positive experiences while she begins to adjust to life outside the shelter.
For Tara, rescue isn’t about rushing toward the next milestone. It’s about giving her the safety and space to move forward when she’s ready.
Tara doesn’t know she’s safe yet. But we do. And we’ll give her all the time she needs to figure it out.
Tara’s Story Is Just Beginning
We don’t yet know who Tara will become as she learns she’s safe. That’s something she gets to show us in her own time.
What we do know is that she won’t have to figure it out alone.
This is Chapter One of Tara’s story. And for the first time, what’s ahead of her is filled with possibility.
Tara’s Journey
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