Instagram story viewer> @tray_chicago> Posts

Tracy Ahern

@tray_chicago

863

followers

4215

following

#UX and #tech nerd 🤓. Product designer. Proud stepmom and pet mom! Bostonian turned Chicagoan. 🐶Animal advocate😻#adoptdontshop | 💀lover.

POSTS STORIES REELS TAGGED

by @tray_chicago

4

0

3 hours ago

by @tray_chicago

13

3

11 days ago

Unconscious people don’t want tea. by @tray_chicago

12

0

15 days ago

One year ago today, we celebrated Clark’s Gotcha Day. ❤️

When Derek first found him on Safe Haven’s website, I wasn’t exactly convinced.

We had just moved into our dream home in Galena after more than a year of renovations. Everything was finally finished. Clean. Peaceful. Perfect.

And then he says…

“How about a Great Pyrenees?”

Cue my panic.

Every article and Reddit thread I read made me think we were making a huge mistake.

“They can grow to 160 pounds.”
“They shed enough fur to knit sweaters.”
“They drool.”
“They bark all night.”
“They’re stubborn.”
“They’re livestock guardian dogs.”
“They’re escape artists.”
“They’re impossible to train.”

I was convinced we were about to destroy our beautiful new home… and probably never sleep again.

Then we met Clark.

He had been surrendered to Safe Haven with his littermates. One by one they were adopted, but Clark remained.

He was terrified.

He wouldn’t come to people. He hid in the corner of his kennel. Most visitors simply passed him by.

So we started visiting him.

Every day.

For three weeks.

We brought treats, sat quietly, talked to him, and waited. Eventually, one day, he cautiously took a treat from my hand before retreating back to his safe corner.

I looked at Derek and said, “Let’s pick him up tomorrow.”

Well… Clark had other plans.

He refused to walk out of the shelter.

So I picked up his solid 65-pound puppy body, carried him to the truck, climbed into the back with him, and for the entire 20-minute drive home, this frightened giant curled up in my lap and held on for dear life.

For weeks he barely left his hiding spot beside our coffee table.

He didn’t understand stairs.
He didn’t understand “outside.”
He didn’t understand that he was finally home.

Little by little, he trusted us.

His big sister, Baby, taught him how to be a dog. (She still isn’t entirely convinced we’re keeping him. 😂)

And every prediction we heard?

Wrong.

He sleeps through the night.

He learned his commands.

He comes when he’s called.

He walks with us every day without a leash and never leaves our side.

(more in comments) taken in Galena, Illinois by @tray_chicago

41

8

4 months ago

Sweet baby 🐷 by @tray_chicago

5

2

5 months ago

by @tray_chicago

4

0

6 months ago

❤️‍🩹 by @tray_chicago

1

1

6 months ago

Let’s use whatever power we have left and get out there on Saturday. No kings. LFG by @tray_chicago

2

0

7 months ago

We are so f’ckd by @tray_chicago

2

0

7 months ago

Boot? Yup. On neck and they’re stomping. VOTE. by @tray_chicago

3

0

7 months ago

This is why the heritage foundation is afraid of women. 😂 by @tray_chicago

4

2

7 months ago

Just. Don’t. 🙄 by @tray_chicago

2

1

7 months ago