RESCUE DOG RELIEVES ANXIETY BY OBSESSIVELY KISSING HER NEW HAIRLESS SISTER
When adorable Sasha was rescued by her forever family, Sasha’s new mom Mary Lynn Cristiano didn’t think that poor Sasha would befriend any other dog. When it comes to other dogs, the 9-year-old pitbull always had a lot of anxiety. She has also never been really interested in toys or playing as though she didn’t know how to “dog.”
“She is the most awkward dog. She sits awkwardly, she eats awkwardly. She’s adorable, but she’s so clingy.” However, everything changed when Cristiano brought home two puppies named Biagio and Donatella. By introducing the two puppies slowly, Cristiano hoped that Sasha would learn to tolerate them and hopefully learn how to play with them. However, what she didn’t expect was that after two short weeks, Sasha would form a deep bond with the pups especially with her hairless sibling Donatella.
“I knew it would be challenging, but I didn't think it would be impossible, and I didn’t think they’d be as close as they are. The girls are a lot closer. They lay on top of each other all the time — they’re inseparable.”
Before Biagio and Donatella came home, Sasha would always comfort herself by licking her mom constantly. “She’s a compulsive licker. Before the puppies, she was always licking our feet, and it’s adorable, but then it’s like, ‘We’re 20 minutes in, and I don’t want to be licked anymore.’”
Something about Donatella who is a Xoloitzcuintli and almost entirely hairless, made Sasha want to lick her constantly. And what makes their bond even more special is that Donatella doesn’t mind Sasha’s tongue baths. “They’re both happy now because Sasha has someone to lick and the puppy is falling asleep to it.”
On a daily basis the two sisters settle down for their luxurious spa session. Sasha gets to relieve her anxiety by licking Donatella, and Donatella gets a long bath and massage. “They take up the entire couch when they do their spa treatment. They both have to lay out, and no one else can have the couch.”
“Both of the puppies breathe a lot of life into her. I don’t think she was very satisfied before — she never played with toys or got to play with other dogs, and with these two puppies, all of a sudden she loves chew toys, she loves tennis balls, she loves to wrestle with them. It’s so funny.”
Every day is a new adventure for Sasha now, and its like her silent personality has completely changed. “We’ve brought in two monstrous puppies who chew her face, pull her tail and jump all over her, and she adores it. It’s the strangest thing, but she really likes them.”