TYSON

Tyson is our baby giraffe and has a zest for life. He somehow wound up here and did his best 180 turn around we have almost ever seen.  Tyson was adopted out by a rescue and whatever happened to him during his time with his adoptive family cause him to develop some very intense fear-based habits.  Tyson feared everything and protected himself fiercely against dogs, cats, and humans of all kinds.  When Tyson first arrived, he would bark aggressively without looking at his caretaker. She spent weeks just sitting beside Tyson, offering him treats that he never took. Everyday she would sit beside him, and Tyson would just bark, but never made eye contact. Slowly, very slowly, Tyson barked less and stopped backing up so much when Terra, his caretaker, sat down. This grew into taking a treat or two off the ground. Eventually, Terra went in for the touch and while he still growled and bared his teeth, he did not back away, but still would not look at her. The touch turned into a slow pet and Tyson melted into it and moved closer. The very next day, Tyson came up to Terra like they had been best friends from day one; he wanted butt scratches and even jumped up to kiss her on the face. So, Terra began working on building his confidence and now Tyson does very well. He still needs to be muzzled at the vet, but they have needles and other pokey things so who can blame him. He also greets people here without issue and gets pets from everyone. Looking at him now you would never know that Tyson had a dark past. He is a perfect example of how environment can so hugely affect a dog.