An unexpected best friend: Woody the dog
Caledon State Park Ranger Lucia Craven cuddles Maliki, a rescue from Old Dominion Humane Society, following a June 13 report of an ‘aggressive dog’ on park land. Craven adopted the dog and has renamed him Woody.
Lucia Craven’s new dog Woody, a rescue from the Old Dominion Humane Society, is happy at his home with his puppy brother.
A Surprising Encounter
After a call reached Park Ranger Lucia Craven, little did she know she was going to be meeting her new best friend.
On June 13 in Caledon State Park, park ranger Craven received a report of a dog hiding under a car in the parking lot. The dog, named Maliki, was a rescue from Old Dominion Humane Society.
Unexpected Friendship
Craven received a report of an “aggressive dog,” but when she made it to Maliki, she could tell the dog wasn’t as big and bad as he may have seemed. Maliki was wearing an “adopt me” bandana when Craven spotted him, signaling that he was a rescue dog.
“When I first heard ‘aggressive dog,’ there was a twinge of fear, but mostly I heard ‘dog needs help,’ ” Craven said.
After some soft coaxing, Maliki started to warm up to Craven. The two bonded quickly as they waited for ODHS volunteers to arrive, becoming friends almost instantly.
Serendipitous Adoption
Once the volunteers arrived to retrieve Maliki, Craven had already made up her mind about Maliki — she was set on adopting him.
“When he charged out from underneath the vehicle and went from growling to asking for belly rubs in one smooth motion, I knew he was a total sweetheart,” Craven said. “He was also very sociable and happy at the return of his people and dog friends, which sealed the deal.”
A New Name, A New Beginning
According to the founder of ODHS, Chrissy Blake, this adoption story was unlike others. “We did not intend for this to happen at all! Maliki wasn’t even on my list of dogs to bring to the park that day!”
Maliki didn’t have much luck on adoption days, usually due to his defensive demeanor. Blake expressed that Maliki’s impromptu adoption shows that once given a chance, this dog has a lot of love to give.
Home Sweet Home
Once adopted, Craven renamed him after the Virginia state tree: Dogwood, or Woody for short. “Turns out he had run through the woods for over a mile to get back to where we first met,” Craven said. “Woody really suits him.”
Woody is fully ingrained in Craven’s home and is even a big brother to their puppy at home. Woody now sleeps comfortably with his new family.
“He really does seem happy and happy to be here, which has brought so much warmth into our home,” Craven shared. “If you can open your home to a rescue, you just might expand your heart tenfold.”
A Lesson in Second Chances
“This story just shows that one glance at a dog through kennel bars doesn’t show you very much at all,” Blake said. “This gives many of our fosters hope and inspiration to get their foster dog out and about to meet people in other comfortable settings.”