When Manny and Ina came to visit the shelter, they weren’t sure if they would find the right animal.
They were looking for a pet to join the family and were looking forward to meeting Pablo, an American Bulldog who had found refuge in that shelter.
When Manny approached Pablo, the dog immediately started growling. Then, when no one expected it, he rushed and grabbed Manny’s sleeve, tearing it in several places.
“I approached, and he tore my coat and bit my arm,” Manny recalls. “Instantly everyone froze.”
“Everyone was thinking, ‘From now on, no one will ever adopt this dog again.’
Although this first experience would have been frightening to some – Manny understood things on a deeper level. He knew that because of his behavior, Pablo would probably not be adopted by any other family.
If Pablo really wanted a chance at a beautiful life, Manny and Ina were his only hope.
“I want him even more now… I want him with all my heart.”
Once Manny and Ina agreed, the decision was final. They were convinced that they would be able to help him evolve and grow. In an interview with The Dodo, Manny said, “We know we have to give our all about the love we have for him and the patience we have.”
After taking Pablo home, the couple began to discover things about his dark past.
At one point, during a medical visit, the vet asked Ina who hit the dog in the face. According to the x-rays, someone had hit the dog when he was very young. This shed light on Pablo’s fear of people.
The abuse had clearly left its mark on the dog. He was terrified of men, which is why he attacked Manny’s sleeve in the first place. However, despite Pablo’s antisocial behavior, Manny was determined to get him on the right track.
As the days went by, Pablo saw Manny caressing him and offering affection to Charlie, the other dog in the family.
“[Pablo] seemed to want to say, ‘I want that too, but I’m scared,'” Manny said. “Charlie was trying to show him, ‘This guy is fine! What are you doing? If you want affection, then you better start behaving as such. ‘”
As time went on, Pablo began to become attached to Manny.
In the pictures presented by The Dodo, you can see them sitting comfortably in bed. “I like how confused he is,” says Manny. “He is a drama queen.”
Since it was published on YouTube, the video with the couple’s story has been viewed over 5 million times.
Stories like this are an amazing example of the power of love.