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Happiness is finding a home: Paw works

A Conejo Valley Dog Rescue is working hard to bring joy to animals and their humans. Recently, Paw Works spoke to The Conejo Guardian to tell us some of their stories.

Brittany Vizcarra, the Operations Manager at Paw Works, told us about Rigatoni, a favorite of the volunteers. 

“We rescued Rigatoni from an LA county shelter, along with dozens of others. He was sweet, but not quick to trust people, and seemed to suffer from past trauma or lack of socialization. We showed him love and patience, and every day he grew more trusting.” 

“Still,” Vizcarra said, “he was having no luck finding a home. And as time went on, he started losing hope.” 

“Then a previous adopter decided to take a chance on Rigs,” Viscarra said, “and took him home on a trial sleepover. By the end of the week, Rigatoni had officially been adopted! Our entire team was overjoyed with the adoption of this incredible, but misunderstood, boy. After waiting almost two years, he is now thriving!” 

Among their other success stories is Fletcher, who was rescued from the Central Valley. “He was a squatty love muffin of energetic perfection,” she says.  “But even with his soulful eyes and incredibly loving cuddles, Fletcher sat with Paw Works for about a year and a half—that is, about 547 days waiting for a home that seemed like it was never going to come.”  

Over time, unfortunately, “Fletcher seemed to begin to give up, and we could tell he was slowly becoming restless and on the brink of being kennel stressed.”

Ms. Vizcarra explains, “kennel stress” is when the dog stops eating. He is so “on edge” that he barks or snaps at the slightest provocation. He might refuse to leave his kennel run. In some cases he begins to shut down. 

“One day, we were contacted that someone wanted to meet Fletch, and in true Fletcher fashion, he greeted them with energetic enthusiasm and wanted to jump all over them to give all of the love he had. On October 6, 2019, Fletcher officially became an adopted dog! All of our eyes were filled with tears the moment it became official—Fletcher had found his forever home.”

The Rescue can be reached at pawworks.org.

Howell is one of the Rescue’s current adoptable dogs.

“Howell, a gorgeous 6-year-old German Shepherd mix, was pulled from a rural shelter in the Central Valley of California,” she said. “Howell has easily won over the hearts of every staff member at Paw Works. He is not only a snuggler, but he is active, silly, and playful as well. He does well with other dogs with proper introduction, but would be best in a home with no cats. He would love an active family that he could go on walks with or, even better, to the beach!”

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