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I met Jackie by accident.

I showed up at the local shelter one freezing January day to volunteer as a dog walker. Jackie had arrived from Puerto Rico the day before. She was completely shut down — shaking and pressed against the back of a cold concrete kennel, trying to make herself invisible. I put a leash on her and took her for a walk, and every time we stopped, she put her paws on me and hugged me. With me, the shaking stopped. She just wanted to touch me.

Teri Brogden

When we returned her to the kennel, the shaking started again. I knew in that moment I couldn’t leave her.

I went into the office and filled out an adoption application immediately. She hadn’t been spayed yet, so we couldn’t make it official. Until then, I sat with her on that cold kennel floor day after day until the staff finally told me to take her home temporarily.

She was with me for weeks before the adoption became official, but she was mine from the very first day.

Teri Brogden

At home, she was still terrified of everything — every noise, every new experience. We were even turned away from a training class because she was too shut down to participate. The instructor told me to take her somewhere different every day and come back in a month. So we did.

A month later, we enrolled in her first class. Progress was slow, and loud noises still caused her to shut down. After months of training, the instructor suggested agility to build her confidence and gave me the number of an agility trainer.

Teri Brogden

Within a month of starting agility, Jackie’s confidence soared. We never planned to compete — agility was just a tool to build communication and trust. But a trainer noticed our connection and suggested we try competing. To our surprise, Jackie earned blue ribbons her very first time out.

There were setbacks. Loud cheers once sent her scrambling into a corner, tail tucked, trying to disappear just like that first day. I counter-conditioned the fear by pairing cheers with praise and cheese — her favorite. Eventually, cheers became her fuel.

By the time we qualified for the Westminster Master Agility Championship, those cheers flipped on her “turbo boost,” sending her flying through the course, tail wagging in joyful circles.

Jackie is now a four-time agility champion. At twelve years old, she’s mostly retired from agility and competes in scent work, which is easier on her joints and great for her mind. Every few months, we still enter an agility trial, and one run turns her into a puppy again. That joy lasts for weeks.

I’m grateful that sports gave her the confidence to simply be a dog. During her first year with me, she never barked or misbehaved. We joked that she thought she might be sent back to Puerto Rico.

Now, I love it when she barks, talks back, and gets just a little naughty. I swear I can see a mischievous twinkle in her eye.

I’m looking forward to the privilege of her growing old by my side.

Story submitted by Teri Brogden

This story was originally shared on The Animal Rescue Site. Share your very own rescue story here!