Abused Rescue Dog Is Terrified Of Everyone Except This Little Person, So They Do Everything Together
Everybody needs someone to love. Nora’s previous owners had abused the pup to the point where she’s now scared to death of every living being – except one toddler. “We got our girl Nora, an English Pointer, from a rescue shelter seven years ago prior to having kids,” her owner Elizabeth told Bored Panda. “Despite having come from an abusive situation her sweet and gentle nature shone through and we knew with certainty she would be a wonderful family dog when the time came. She absolutely did not disappoint!”
Elizabeth’s family is definitely on the bigger side. She and her husband have 3 kids, 3 rescue cats, 3 rescue dogs. Aside from being in love with the number 3, Elizabeth adores the relationship between her son Archie and their pup Nora. “Archie is an extremely laid-back, happy, good-natured baby and all the animals seem to really respond to that, particularly Nora,” Spence told the Dodo. “She came from an abusive background and is afraid of almost everything. Not Archie, though. She absolutely adores him!”
The duo is inseparable. “If Archie is having a bath, Nora is lying on the bath mat waiting for him to get out. If I’m nursing him she wants up on my lap, too.” Luckily, she documents their incredible bond and shares it on Instagram where nearly 100,000 people are following the heartwarming friendship.
More info: Instagram
When Elizabeth Spence adopted Nora, the woman noticed she was not like their other pets
Previous owners abused Nora so much, they left her traumatized
The poor English Pointer was terrified of everyone
Until Elizabeth had her son, Archie
“Archie is an extremely laid-back, happy, good-natured baby and all the animals seem to really respond to that, particularly Nora”
“She came from an abusive background and is afraid of almost everything. Not Archie, though. She absolutely adores him”
The duo is absolutely inseparable
“If Archie is having a bath, Nora is lying on the bath mat waiting for him to get out”
“If I’m nursing him she wants up on my lap, too”
“If he’s going through my cupboards throwing all the dishes on the floor, she’ll be there cheering him on”
They even became the best sleeping buddies
“We taught the kids from a very young age to respect the dogs and to treat them well”
“The dogs trust and love the kids very much and are quite comfortable hanging out with them in any manner”
I can't bear the thought of animals being mistreated or abused. Children and dogs are such a wonderful combination.
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I'm making $85 an hour working from home. I was shocked when my neighbour told me she was averaging $120 but I see how it works now. I feel so much freedom now that I'm my own boss. This is what I do... http://cutt.us/hmRpX
There certainly does seem to be a lovely bond between the two of them. I'll probably get shouted down, but the doctor in me does feel very anxious seeing a baby's face so close to any dog's face. I encourage my kids never to put their face next to a dog, even ours who know and love them - my son got bitten on the face by a friend's dog who was otherwise sweet and had never bitten anyone before. But I'm all for rescue dogs - ours is also scared of people but loves our kids.
Most people who get bitten in the face by dogs are not in the dogs "pack". When dogs love and respect the family members, serious biting behavior should be nil (and I can't speak to when a dog is sick). Dogs recognize when a family member is frail or infirm or an infant. They recognize other animals as members of their "pack". When dogs are well adjusted family members, they can be trusted. However, I must say that as a dog owner it rests upon you to foster the relationship of that dog within your family. In my home, I have no doubt that my dogs recognize myself and other family members as the alphas. What this means is that they respect our home, our personal items and our food. Having said all of the above, I must once again state that all responsibility rests with the dog owner to know their pet(s). I would never let a stranger hug my dogs around the neck or put their faces close to my dogs faces, those are things we do only with our dogs, without worry, as pack leaders.
Same here! I trust and love dogs, but as a little kid I got a bite on my face from a sweet dog who did not bite anyone before or after.... Probably there is an explanation, my behaviour might have been threatening towards the dog, I don't know. But I'd say - not the face please.
Dogs only bite when they are trapped or threatened and I seriously doubt this dog would bite even if provoked. This family has many animals and that doesn’t happen by accident, you have to know your animals. They don’t seem like the kind of people that would raise a mean , neglected dog just to show off to their friends.
From the time my dogs were puppies to adult dogs, I would always put my face in their dog food bowl right next to them. It really worked for us, because babies love to put their little faces right next to a dog when they are eating. Never once had any problems with any of my dogs biting or even growling at my my kids. So for me it’s not a problem when I see a dogs face so close to a babies face. I had a big German Shepherd with my first born and she would lay right next to the baby, very protective.
I thought the same. The pictures are lovely and you are right to be concerned. Protect all living things.
My thought too, but they are keeping a close eye on them any way which is good. I think part of it depends on the dog and if you know how they react to stress, which unfortunately people tend to not do and dismiss. My parents have two dogs, we know how they react. Even though both love babies and kids, only one is allowed to cuddle.
I am 74, I have had dogs faces in mine since I can remember. Never been bit, but I also have a grate immune system. I credit that to not worrying about every little thing while I was outside playing
Yes. The kid can poke her eye or go for her teeth. Dogs feel threatened if dome one grabs them by throat. You never know. Plus their impulse reactions are very fast.
I agree 100%
I think you might be a bit tainted by your personal experience there. Is there a possibility of a bite? Of course, but damn near everything in life caries some sort of possibility of danger, and that's okay. That's part of what life is about. The best we can do is to try to be as objective as possible about the dangers as much as possible. I guarantee this child will appreciate that the chance was taken.
You're right. One bite and all's bad.
Is Nora the dog with lots of freckles on her ears, or the one that almost had no freckles? because there are two dogs there. Still cute as heck, wonder how they make them sleep arranged like that.
The darker freckles all appear when the kid is younger. I wonder if they're fading as the dog ages. I know my dog went grey as he aged so that might explain it. They obviously do have two similar dogs but it seems odd that the owner wouldn't know which one they were photographing. That said I saw a bichon on my groomer's FB the other day and was like oh that's my baby! Before noticing that the one in the photo had one more leg than my little tripod does.
Yes, I noticed too that there are actually two dogs.
I can't bear the thought of animals being mistreated or abused. Children and dogs are such a wonderful combination.
This comment is hidden. Click here to view.
I'm making $85 an hour working from home. I was shocked when my neighbour told me she was averaging $120 but I see how it works now. I feel so much freedom now that I'm my own boss. This is what I do... http://cutt.us/hmRpX
There certainly does seem to be a lovely bond between the two of them. I'll probably get shouted down, but the doctor in me does feel very anxious seeing a baby's face so close to any dog's face. I encourage my kids never to put their face next to a dog, even ours who know and love them - my son got bitten on the face by a friend's dog who was otherwise sweet and had never bitten anyone before. But I'm all for rescue dogs - ours is also scared of people but loves our kids.
Most people who get bitten in the face by dogs are not in the dogs "pack". When dogs love and respect the family members, serious biting behavior should be nil (and I can't speak to when a dog is sick). Dogs recognize when a family member is frail or infirm or an infant. They recognize other animals as members of their "pack". When dogs are well adjusted family members, they can be trusted. However, I must say that as a dog owner it rests upon you to foster the relationship of that dog within your family. In my home, I have no doubt that my dogs recognize myself and other family members as the alphas. What this means is that they respect our home, our personal items and our food. Having said all of the above, I must once again state that all responsibility rests with the dog owner to know their pet(s). I would never let a stranger hug my dogs around the neck or put their faces close to my dogs faces, those are things we do only with our dogs, without worry, as pack leaders.
Same here! I trust and love dogs, but as a little kid I got a bite on my face from a sweet dog who did not bite anyone before or after.... Probably there is an explanation, my behaviour might have been threatening towards the dog, I don't know. But I'd say - not the face please.
Dogs only bite when they are trapped or threatened and I seriously doubt this dog would bite even if provoked. This family has many animals and that doesn’t happen by accident, you have to know your animals. They don’t seem like the kind of people that would raise a mean , neglected dog just to show off to their friends.
From the time my dogs were puppies to adult dogs, I would always put my face in their dog food bowl right next to them. It really worked for us, because babies love to put their little faces right next to a dog when they are eating. Never once had any problems with any of my dogs biting or even growling at my my kids. So for me it’s not a problem when I see a dogs face so close to a babies face. I had a big German Shepherd with my first born and she would lay right next to the baby, very protective.
I thought the same. The pictures are lovely and you are right to be concerned. Protect all living things.
My thought too, but they are keeping a close eye on them any way which is good. I think part of it depends on the dog and if you know how they react to stress, which unfortunately people tend to not do and dismiss. My parents have two dogs, we know how they react. Even though both love babies and kids, only one is allowed to cuddle.
I am 74, I have had dogs faces in mine since I can remember. Never been bit, but I also have a grate immune system. I credit that to not worrying about every little thing while I was outside playing
Yes. The kid can poke her eye or go for her teeth. Dogs feel threatened if dome one grabs them by throat. You never know. Plus their impulse reactions are very fast.
I agree 100%
I think you might be a bit tainted by your personal experience there. Is there a possibility of a bite? Of course, but damn near everything in life caries some sort of possibility of danger, and that's okay. That's part of what life is about. The best we can do is to try to be as objective as possible about the dangers as much as possible. I guarantee this child will appreciate that the chance was taken.
You're right. One bite and all's bad.
Is Nora the dog with lots of freckles on her ears, or the one that almost had no freckles? because there are two dogs there. Still cute as heck, wonder how they make them sleep arranged like that.
The darker freckles all appear when the kid is younger. I wonder if they're fading as the dog ages. I know my dog went grey as he aged so that might explain it. They obviously do have two similar dogs but it seems odd that the owner wouldn't know which one they were photographing. That said I saw a bichon on my groomer's FB the other day and was like oh that's my baby! Before noticing that the one in the photo had one more leg than my little tripod does.
Yes, I noticed too that there are actually two dogs.