Gentle giant

WHEN SCAMPER ARRIVED AT Palm Valley Animal Society in Texas, it was clear that he had had a rough life. He was brought in as a stray, covered in scabs and scars. Despite all his troubles, the big white dog was gentle and desperate for affection, all smiles and tail wags.

When Dogtown caregiver Megan Boemeke met Scamper, her heart went out to him. “The second I walked into his kennel and knelt down,” she says, “he put his paw in my hand and leaned his head into my chest.” Megan was helping out in Texas as part of the Best Friends mentorship program, and she decided to take Scamper for a sleepover. After she gave Scamper a soothing bath, his whole body relaxed and he spent the entire night stretched out on the couch, fast asleep.

When Best Friends arranged a transport of some 16 dogs from Palm Valley Animal Society to the Sanctuary, Scamper was one of them. Back home in Utah, Megan is fostering the big guy and helping him to heal. And now, she says with a laugh, this gentle giant spends his days pretending to be a lapdog.