Woman With A Fear Of Dogs Decides To Adopt A Dog Who Is Afraid Of People And They Develop A Heartwarming Friendship
Recently, TikTok user @ketophoria, whose real name is Teresa Hwang, shared her heartwarming story of love that is greater than any fear, which has been viewed by 1.6M people and gained 449.9K likes in just a few days.
The 51-year-old elementary school Special Education teacher from Oakville, Canada has been bitten by a dog twice, which led to a severe fear of dogs for most of her life… until she met Boo, a shelter dog who was afraid of people. It was a match made in heaven to grow and overcome fears together. In those couple of years, they both had to take baby steps and surround each other with patience and unconditional love to gain trust and develop a friendship like no other.
“Sometimes, I still can’t believe I have a dog, much less love one as much as I love Boo. I tell people he’s like the son I never had. I don’t just love him because he loves and needs me. I love him for who is, exactly as he is, for all he has overcome and for the joy he has brought into my life,” Teresa Hwang told Bored Panda and shared the whole touching story with us.
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@ketophoria“Change is the essence of life; be willing to surrender what you are for what you could become.” ~ Reinhold Niebuhr ##rescuedog ##dog ##furbaby ##doglove♬ Surrender – Natalie Taylor
“I have been afraid of dogs for most of my life. Having been bitten by friends’ dogs at the age of 10 (on the forehead) and the age of 20 (on the leg), I had developed a dog phobia that I was able to manage mostly through avoidance. I would cross streets to avoid walking past leashed dogs, did not enjoy running outside, and would ask friends I visited to put overactive or barking dogs in other rooms. While I could manage and interact with friendly dogs that I became familiar with, regardless of size or breed, I still always panicked if a dog growled or barked, even if it was just playing.”
Even though Hwang’s boyfriend has been asking for a dog for a number of years, the serious idea to adopt one came a couple of years ago, after dog-sitting her sister’s 16-year-old black mutt, Cola, for two weeks.
“After researching and reaching out to a numerous rescue shelters, we found a dog named Patches (we later renamed him Boo) at the Niagara Dog Rescue. Boo had been in the system for about 6 months, originally came from Texas (two different shelters there and at least another foster family),” said Hwang.
Image credits: ketophoria
“Description mentioned that Boo would not be a good fit in a home with a lot of noise, activity or children but that he was great with other dogs. He was described as a ‘Prince of a dog,’ part Australian Cattle dog, who was timid and shy but could show his potential if given a loving home. The description made me think of Aladdin, ‘a diamond in the rough.'”
Image credits: ketophoria
“When I first met Boo, the first thing I remembered thinking was that he was much smaller than I thought he would be from his pictures. I also observed how fearful and nervous he was. He was sitting on a bench beside his foster mom when we arrived. While I sat on the other end of the bench talking to his foster, I didn’t look at or engage with him at all because I was quite anxious myself.”
Image credits: ketophoria
Image credits: ketophoria
“About 15 minutes in our conversation, Boo slowly came out from hiding behind his foster mom and took a few steps towards me. As I turned to look, he gave me one lick on the nose and then quickly retreated and hid behind his foster mom again. His foster mom gave me a surprised look and replied, ‘Wow. That’s really weird, he doesn’t approach people. I guess he’s picked you.’ Right then and there, all my catastrophic and self-deprecating worries that had escalated in the weeks prior to this day, about my safety about my ability to overcome my fear, melted. If he took a leap to initiate a connection, then I knew it was a sign. I had to take him home.”
Image credits: ketophoria
“For the first couple of months, he didn’t engage much. He would follow me around the house but couldn’t approach. He wouldn’t eat in front of us. He wouldn’t touch toys. He walked with his tail between his legs. He paced a lot. He cowered in corners. He flinched and would shake at noises like the washing machine or the furnace.”
Image credits: ketophoria
“Unsure about his history, we treated him as if he experienced trauma and worked on creating safety and building trust. We kept to predictable routines and took cues from his body language when not to push him outside his comfort zone. We researched using different anxiety tools (e.g., Thundershirt, Slow feed bowls, Calming spray, CBD oil) and used multiple trainers. He was hard to train because he wasn’t highly food motivated as he often got quite anxious around food (perhaps because he associated food with pursuit or punishment).”
Image credits: ketophoria
Image credits: ketophoria
“Then eventually, he started to feel safe, I noticed his tail started to wag on walks. He started to eat in front of us. A few weeks later, he licked me on the nose. A couple of months later, he started to play with a ball. Then, I heard him bark for the first time in excitement in our back yard. With each milestone I witnessed, I cried happy tears because it was as if Boo was a puppy again and was learning ‘how to dog.'”
Image credits: ketophoria
Image credits: ketophoria
“He’s not your typical dog. He still paces if people are moving around the house. He doesn’t get motivated by treats. He darts from rustling leaves on windy days. He doesn’t ever come to the door to greet you. He won’t jump on your lap to cheer you up. He’s not super friendly. He doesn’t like being pet by strangers. But Boo has made so many gains in the past 2-1/2 years since we first got him.”
Image credits: ketophoria
Image credits: ketophoria
“When he feels safe, he is happy. He makes eye contact now. He approaches and makes funny groaning noises that he’d like to be pet. He won’t initiate cuddles but lets me pick him up and relaxes into my arms and shows he’s happy by licking my face. He’s learned how to sit and fetch, go to his place for food, and happily goes into his crate to sleep at night. He wags his tail and smiles when you ask him if he wants to go for a walk and he is the King of tag at the dog park. He’s learned a lot and I am so proud of him.”
Image credits: ketophoria
Image credits: ketophoria
“People also ask if I have gotten over my dog phobia. Well, I’m not afraid of Boo―even when he barks or growls to communicate excitement or discomfort. But I’m still nervous around other dogs I don’t know. But it’s better. And I know that if a dog came after Boo, I would protect him. Because Boo isn’t the only one who has changed. Seeing Boo heal and grow has changed the way I see myself. Just as with my own children, taking care of Boo has taught me patience and unconditional love.”
Image credits: ketophoria
Image credits: ketophoria
“Teaching Boo has also changed the way I see many of my students. I’ve realized now that many times behaviors like defiance or aggression or avoidance or shutting down are all tied to the same thing―anxiety and fear. Fear is a powerful emotion. It prevents you from taking risks, from trusting others, and believing in yourself. Building relationships first―creating a sense of safety and trust really is the most important thing. When people praise me for saving his life saying that I rescued him, I always have the same response, ‘Boo rescued me right back’. We overcame our fears together. We healed each other. We showed that love is greater than fear.”
Image credits: ketophoria
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Such a great story, thanks for sharing. So glad Boo found such a great home. :) One of our two cats we also named Boo. He was very fearful at the shelter, puked from anxiety and wouldn't let anyone touch him. Besides he's a black cat so no one wanted him. It took some time and patience but now he's the biggest snuggle bug ever. We were lucky he's a curious cat that likes treats a lot, which made it a lot easier to gain his trust. He's still a bit jumpy when unforeseen things happen like loud noises but in general he's a very relaxed cat nowadays. :)
People don't usually like to adopt black cats? That would be my first choice if I were a cat person!
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Our rescue Oliver shares a very similar story. It took him 4 years to overcome his fear of people. We had no idea what a playful, loving and affectionate dog that was hiding under his trauma - to us he was perfect from the first day we adopted him. I cannot express the joy at seeing a traumatized animal heal, and it underlined the very important truth that to succeed in life, love is the biggest piece of the puzzle.
I can relate. I've been a foster mom for many years to many different dogs. I have 2 'foster failures', meaning I kept them because they'd never get adopted. My little guy Moemoe...chi.corgi mix..was , and still is terrified of anyone but me. However, it took 7 YEARS to come to me for affection. 7 YEARS!!! And now, he paws at me in bed until I shower him with affection. I reprimanded him once, years ago..I dont even know for what, and he shook like there was an earthquake inside him. Noone else can even get near him to pet him, and noone will ever see our bond because hes nit affectionate when anyone's around. But he has the biggest smile I've ever seen on a dog, and I love him to pieces and back...judi fogarty
My sister had a dog like Boo. Took her 5yrs to be able to touch her, another 5 until she was able to trust my sister. Then my sister moved into her new house rescuing Betty from a certain death. Betty discovered how to be dog and for the last 2 yrs she gave all the love she knew to my sister. She was a good dog... Bless you for taking Boo and may you two have a lot of years together
To the author Hidrėlėy (did I say that right?? lol) -- MORE LIKE THIS!!! I keep re-reading this because of how much it makes me happy. Please, more content like this article. GREAT JOB :)
I'm not crying, you're crying! This is so heartwarming, they are healing each other.
Such a beautiful story! You are both lucky to have found a special connection.
Enjoyed this. I'm not much of a photographer so could someone explain how the black spot on Boos face keeps changing sides? Use small words please.
You're right. A couple photos do show the patch on the other side. The full body selfie photo was taken in a mirror so that makes sense, but the one on the couch is weird since a mirror wouldn't be that close. I guess that photo just got flipped horizontally. No idea why, but it's extremely easy to do.
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Great story. It would have probably gone a bit faster if you weren't as fearful as you were of dogs. I've taken in a badly abused dog that showed the same fear signs, it took me about 2 months to completely win over the dog because I have knowledge of how to treat them and I'm not afraid of dogs at all. You boo looks a bit like my Lily I have now, a sweet, beautiful dog. I wish you joy with all of your future dogs because you are a dog lover now :)
As a rescuer of a fearful dog, I applaud you! She’s made strides too in our 3 years and I so relate to his story. Our babies may never be “normal” but their live is so special since it is so hard-won.
I love the photos of the two of them together - they look so happy! Beautiful story.
"You were scared of ME? I was scared of YOU! I'm so glad he found a home with such caring and intelligent friends.
I was attacked by an attack trained GSD who aimed for my jugular, but got the back of my ear instead. Also got a nip on my leg which bled from another GSD. Consequently, I developed quite a fear of German Shepherds. A few years ago, I forced myself to go to a police demonstration of how they use their canine unit, and come meet the dogs. I went around petting all these beautiful, talented dogs, and gradually felt my fear melt away. Get a little lump in my throat whenever I see one close, but it fades quickly.
I like the dog and the story is great, but I wanna know where she got those overalls and that rainbow hat?! 😍
Boo and his family are so lucky they found each other. Fear is hard to cope with when you are awash with it. Truly a love story
I adopted a cat like that It took 2 years for her to accept me. Now another 3 years later she is my baby doll
are these different dogs? Once the black spot is on his right forehead and another time on the left.
Good catch! Same dog, but either the photos got flopped or the photo was taken of their images in a mirror. It strikes me as highly unlikely that the owner found a mirror-image twin of her dog. :)
Load More Replies...
I have been bitten so many times in my life. Starting as a child and neighbor's abused cocker spaniel who latched on to my hand. I steered clear of them thereafter.
Then, as an adult, I owned a landscape company and along with the mail carriers was chased and bitten and cornered by clients dogs. An Airedale even lunged around its owner when she answered the door, grabbed my coat and started dragging me in to (I assume) kill me. I billed her for the coat.
When I moved home to care for my mom a neigbor's German Shepherd was roaming and attacked me as I put the trash out. Landed me in the ER.
And I have always had dogs, love dogs. Trained and titled them. Dogs bite and attack for all kinds of reasons. Its just part of the deal as landscaper and others.
But I hated that I was still nervous about cockers though, so went to the shelter for a buff cocker spaniel (returned three times) just like the one who bit me as a child. Who became my beloved little heart dog. annabele-a...a84f77.jpg 
This could've gone a million different ways, yet it went the exact right one <3
Honey it's too early to be cutting onions in the house, what are you doing?!?
Honey it's too early to be cutting onions in the house, what are you doing?!
So I'm confused, some pictures show a right black eye patch and others show a left black eye patch. Do you have two dogs?
Beautiful!!! So much of what you wrote reminds me of the first few months with two of my pups, but this story is still uniquely yours and Boo's and it brought me to tears. Thank you for rescuing! <3
Not to be a party poopers, but why does the dog have a black patch on the left side in some photos and a black patch on the right side in other photos?
Perhaps some of them were taken with the front camera, they tend to mirror the photos.
Load More Replies... 
well someones a pissy princess arent they? :)
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Such a great story, thanks for sharing. So glad Boo found such a great home. :) One of our two cats we also named Boo. He was very fearful at the shelter, puked from anxiety and wouldn't let anyone touch him. Besides he's a black cat so no one wanted him. It took some time and patience but now he's the biggest snuggle bug ever. We were lucky he's a curious cat that likes treats a lot, which made it a lot easier to gain his trust. He's still a bit jumpy when unforeseen things happen like loud noises but in general he's a very relaxed cat nowadays. :)
People don't usually like to adopt black cats? That would be my first choice if I were a cat person!
Load More Replies... Our rescue Oliver shares a very similar story. It took him 4 years to overcome his fear of people. We had no idea what a playful, loving and affectionate dog that was hiding under his trauma - to us he was perfect from the first day we adopted him. I cannot express the joy at seeing a traumatized animal heal, and it underlined the very important truth that to succeed in life, love is the biggest piece of the puzzle.
I can relate. I've been a foster mom for many years to many different dogs. I have 2 'foster failures', meaning I kept them because they'd never get adopted. My little guy Moemoe...chi.corgi mix..was , and still is terrified of anyone but me. However, it took 7 YEARS to come to me for affection. 7 YEARS!!! And now, he paws at me in bed until I shower him with affection. I reprimanded him once, years ago..I dont even know for what, and he shook like there was an earthquake inside him. Noone else can even get near him to pet him, and noone will ever see our bond because hes nit affectionate when anyone's around. But he has the biggest smile I've ever seen on a dog, and I love him to pieces and back...judi fogarty
My sister had a dog like Boo. Took her 5yrs to be able to touch her, another 5 until she was able to trust my sister. Then my sister moved into her new house rescuing Betty from a certain death. Betty discovered how to be dog and for the last 2 yrs she gave all the love she knew to my sister. She was a good dog... Bless you for taking Boo and may you two have a lot of years together
To the author Hidrėlėy (did I say that right?? lol) -- MORE LIKE THIS!!! I keep re-reading this because of how much it makes me happy. Please, more content like this article. GREAT JOB :)
I'm not crying, you're crying! This is so heartwarming, they are healing each other.
Such a beautiful story! You are both lucky to have found a special connection.
Enjoyed this. I'm not much of a photographer so could someone explain how the black spot on Boos face keeps changing sides? Use small words please.
You're right. A couple photos do show the patch on the other side. The full body selfie photo was taken in a mirror so that makes sense, but the one on the couch is weird since a mirror wouldn't be that close. I guess that photo just got flipped horizontally. No idea why, but it's extremely easy to do.
Load More Replies... Great story. It would have probably gone a bit faster if you weren't as fearful as you were of dogs. I've taken in a badly abused dog that showed the same fear signs, it took me about 2 months to completely win over the dog because I have knowledge of how to treat them and I'm not afraid of dogs at all. You boo looks a bit like my Lily I have now, a sweet, beautiful dog. I wish you joy with all of your future dogs because you are a dog lover now :)
As a rescuer of a fearful dog, I applaud you! She’s made strides too in our 3 years and I so relate to his story. Our babies may never be “normal” but their live is so special since it is so hard-won.
I love the photos of the two of them together - they look so happy! Beautiful story.
"You were scared of ME? I was scared of YOU! I'm so glad he found a home with such caring and intelligent friends.
I was attacked by an attack trained GSD who aimed for my jugular, but got the back of my ear instead. Also got a nip on my leg which bled from another GSD. Consequently, I developed quite a fear of German Shepherds. A few years ago, I forced myself to go to a police demonstration of how they use their canine unit, and come meet the dogs. I went around petting all these beautiful, talented dogs, and gradually felt my fear melt away. Get a little lump in my throat whenever I see one close, but it fades quickly.
I like the dog and the story is great, but I wanna know where she got those overalls and that rainbow hat?! 😍
Boo and his family are so lucky they found each other. Fear is hard to cope with when you are awash with it. Truly a love story
I adopted a cat like that It took 2 years for her to accept me. Now another 3 years later she is my baby doll
are these different dogs? Once the black spot is on his right forehead and another time on the left.
Good catch! Same dog, but either the photos got flopped or the photo was taken of their images in a mirror. It strikes me as highly unlikely that the owner found a mirror-image twin of her dog. :)
Load More Replies... I have been bitten so many times in my life. Starting as a child and neighbor's abused cocker spaniel who latched on to my hand. I steered clear of them thereafter.
Then, as an adult, I owned a landscape company and along with the mail carriers was chased and bitten and cornered by clients dogs. An Airedale even lunged around its owner when she answered the door, grabbed my coat and started dragging me in to (I assume) kill me. I billed her for the coat.
When I moved home to care for my mom a neigbor's German Shepherd was roaming and attacked me as I put the trash out. Landed me in the ER.
And I have always had dogs, love dogs. Trained and titled them. Dogs bite and attack for all kinds of reasons. Its just part of the deal as landscaper and others.
But I hated that I was still nervous about cockers though, so went to the shelter for a buff cocker spaniel (returned three times) just like the one who bit me as a child. Who became my beloved little heart dog. annabele-a...a84f77.jpg
This could've gone a million different ways, yet it went the exact right one <3
Honey it's too early to be cutting onions in the house, what are you doing?!?
Honey it's too early to be cutting onions in the house, what are you doing?!
So I'm confused, some pictures show a right black eye patch and others show a left black eye patch. Do you have two dogs?
Beautiful!!! So much of what you wrote reminds me of the first few months with two of my pups, but this story is still uniquely yours and Boo's and it brought me to tears. Thank you for rescuing! <3
Not to be a party poopers, but why does the dog have a black patch on the left side in some photos and a black patch on the right side in other photos?
Perhaps some of them were taken with the front camera, they tend to mirror the photos.
Load More Replies... well someones a pissy princess arent they? :)
Load More Replies... 
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