Before being rescued, this dog was found wandering the streets of Los Angeles, California alone, and apparently had been doing so for most of his life. The puppy was about 11 years old at the time, and because of his age, he had become very sick and just wanted to get some help.
The big dog chose to sleep on the balcony of a woman’s house one day, but he decided to stay there until he received the necessary help. The woman noticed that the dog was sick and terrified, so she approached to see what was wrong with him.
A few days later, the woman’s dog, Solovino, remained on the balcony, so she decided to do something to help him. The woman contacted Rocket Dog Rescue Animal Shelter, which agreed to foster Solovino and transport him to its headquarters in San Francisco. The rescue center specializes in helping homeless animals, but the dog was first placed in a foster home to get used to his new surroundings.
Unfortunately, Solovino has been adopted multiple times, but for some reason has been returned to the shelter all those times, without much explanation. No one could understand why the beautiful little dog couldn’t find a suitable home, until Carol Messina came along to change his life. Fortunately, Carol saw a picture of Solovino online and immediately knew he was the dog for her and decided to adopt him.
“As soon as I saw his face on the website, I wanted to love him,” Carol told The Dodo. Then I saw that his name was Solovino, and since I’m a huge Star Wars fan, I immediately thought, “Well, his name is Solo!” I knew it was fate. Then when I met him and saw how sad he was, I knew he would stay with me forever no matter what.
When he first met Solo, he was very sad and shy and didn’t trust people very much, but he knew that with her he would be safe. Solovino arrived at his new home, and although he should have been happy, he was terrified, and living on the streets for so long seemed to have taken a toll on him. He was also very wary of people and undependable, as if he thought Carol would take him back like the other adoptees did.
Carol added: “When he came to live with me, he kept his tail between his legs for several months. “He was not very social with dogs, people and cats, and would startle when someone tried to pet him.”
Carol soon makes a discovery that will change Solo’s situation, as he was almost completely deaf and his teeth bothered him greatly. Even the shelter volunteers didn’t notice it either, which goes some way to explaining the reasons for his strange attitude.
Perhaps his inability to hear people approaching is why he feels extremely anxious or stressed. His teeth were also causing him a lot of pain and it was very difficult for him to be happy with any activity or show his true behavior. So his new mom decided to take him to the vet to get his teeth fixed, and once they did, he completely changed.
The dog began to play and run everywhere in the house, and he even began to meet new dogs to make nice friends. To help with his hearing problem, Carol bought him a belt that said Deaf, so people would recognize him and ask questions before petting him.
He also always turns the lights on and off in the house, so Sulu knows she’s coming and isn’t afraid of her presence. Solovino has completely changed, and in a short time he has become a happy, outgoing dog who enjoys his life to the fullest.
“People who live around us always comment that it doesn’t look like the same dog anymore,” Carol commented. “He hasn’t opened his mouth to pant in months, and now he’s smiling, twirling and running outside dozens of times a day.” Despite his health problems, Solovino’s life has completely changed and he is now very happy living out his golden years next to his new mother.