Six-year-old Sydney’s original owner was killed in a car crash over the summer and the dog has been through a lot before landing with her new family.
Midland, Texas – Dogs are some of the cutest animals on Earth.
They help you through the toughest moments of your life.
When you’re grieving over a tough day, a dog is there to be your shoulder to cry on.
But what about when man’s best friend is going through the toughest time of their life?
Sydney may seem like your average carefree puppy, but just a few months ago, her life took a drastic turn.
“Sydney was brought to the shelter when she and her owner were involved in a car accident,” said Trace Gilhart, president of the Midland Animal Shelter (MASA). She died instantly. Fortunately, she (Sydney) was not injured at all. She did have abrasions on her head.”
Sydney was rescued by Midland-based animal rescue organization MASA following the accident. However, the trauma on the dog was evident.
“When I know the owner has died, I look at how the dog handled it,” Gearhart said. “Some dogs do well. You know, I mean, they don’t like being in a shelter, but they don’t sulk. Sydney is a little bit different. I mean, she’s kind of withdrawn, she’s quiet, she’s confused. She Very frustrating. It’s just a very sad situation. But I think Sydney knows her owners are not going to come to her for any reason.”
Unfortunately, things are looking bleak for Sydney with her owner leaving in such a tragic way.
“We don’t know anything about Sydney,” Gearhart said. “All we know is she had an owner, she was six years old, and the owner has passed away. So, before I put her in the home, I really need to have her assessed by a trainer. I just can’t just put her Putting it in any foster home, I couldn’t adopt her right away. Then we started looking for a trainer.”
Finding a trainer is the first step.
“It can’t be enough for the coach,” Gearhart said. “They know how to evaluate these dogs. They know how to work with them.”
That’s where The Balanced Dog comes in. This organization teaches dogs obedience and, in Sydney’s case, hope.
“I went to the animal shelter for something,” said Anne Sparks, owner of The Balanced Dog. “Tracey kind of pointed her (Sydney) at me. She was there for about a few days. For a week. She was struggling. They were doing everything they could to help her. A few more days later, Tracy called me to do an assessment of Sydney so they could get an idea of what a home would be like and when Start looking for the best home for her.”
So Sydney worked and trained with The Balanced Dog and over time she managed to transform into the carefree dog she is now.
“In the end, I posted about her on my Facebook page and we were looking for a home for her,” Sparks said. “When I posted Sydney, I didn’t post any details about how she got to where she is because I didn’t want people to feel sorry for her. That’s why they adopted her.”
After several families reached out to help, she found a home: the Urquitas.
“Well, we’ve been looking for a smaller dog since we lost our dog in March,” said Sydney’s new owner, Laura Urquieta. “I was thinking maybe a 25lb dog, I’ve been following the MASA website and/or Facebook page. I saw her one day, but we didn’t think we were meeting her needs. So I’ve been a few weeks later, maybe a month later, Ann has her Posted on her Facebook page.”
That’s when the Urquitas, like everyone else who saw Sydney, fell in love with her.
“So they contacted me,” Sparks said. “I knew them because we trained another dog of theirs, so I knew they had a big commitment to him, so I felt really good about it. I was like, well, they’re not going to take it in a week,” she said ‘Okay, sorry, this doesn’t work.’”
As it turns out, 3 months later, Sydney is inseparable from her new family: from another dog, Max, to the children.
“She’s like pepperoni on pizza,” said Laura’s son Luca Urquita.
“It was great to have Sid Bear with us,” said Laura’s husband, Aaron. “She actually takes a lot of fun from our other dog.”
“I love the fact that she came to sleep with me,” Luca said. “Because she kept coming into my room and laying next to me. She just put her head on my bed. Then she fell asleep and then I fell asleep.”
“She’s pretty crazy,” said Laura’s daughter, Emma. “She’s running around, but like she’s been drinking a lot, she’ll slowly back away. It’s really funny because she’ll be like, look around, then take two steps back, and then she’ll look around again.”
None of this would be possible without MASA’s rescue, Balanced Dog’s training and, ultimately, a perfect match in Urquieta’s home.
“It’s the way it’s supposed to be,” Gearhart said. “You know, rescues shouldn’t be rushing to get the dog out. Our job is to assess the dog and make sure it gets the help, the family it needs or the family it needs. That’s our job.”
“And she’s been very well behaved and well trained,” Laura said. “Really grateful to Anne for helping her remember this so we can bring her into our house and be part of it.”
“But she’s approaching everybody,” Gearhart said. “She was very happy and outgoing and that wasn’t the dog I saw at the shelter.”
Dogs may seem like they’ve figured everything out, but they’re going through things too.
Sometimes they need each other’s support. Sydney has had a lot of support, showing that no matter how low it may seem, even for a dog, there is always light at the end of the tunnel.
The dog found that light…and has been smiling ever since.
“[We’re] Always smiling and laughing at what she did and how she acted,” Laura said. “She always made us laugh.
“There’s never a dull moment,” Aaron said. “once.”
