"Oh Mama, it's OK."
Even though she was finally safe,
Cocoa Bean was still so scared.
Her rescuer, Laura, was worried.
She thought, "How will I ever get this pup to trust me?"
Just a few days ago, Laura had found her living outside.
She didn't wanna frighten Cocoa Bean,
so she had to move very slowly.
Coco Bean was thinking, "I smell food!"
"But I don't know who this stranger is."
Laura waited as patiently as she could,
and then Cocoa Bean let her do this.
Soon, Laura had a leash on her.
Success!
But Cocoa Bean refused to budge.
She was too scared.
How was Laura going to get her to safety?
There was only one thing to do.
Up you go, little bean.
Laura thought when Cocoa Bean was safe in the house,
she would be happy.
But she still didn't want to move.
She must have been thinking, "Maybe if I'm really still,"
"no one will notice me."
But Laura did notice.
She couldn't stop thinking
about her and wondering how to help her feel happy.
She tried giving her treats.
Maybe that would help her relax.
But Cocoa Bean still seemed scared.
That's when Laura came up with the perfect idea.
Bring Cocoa Bean out for a real treat:
the drive-through!
Cocoa Bean still needed some encouragement.
The other dogs were like, "Aren't you excited? Lucky!"
And in the car, she was so scared she was shaking.
Laura thought, “Just wait, pup.”
“Everything's about to change.”
"One cheeseburger."
She ordered Cocoa Bean's treat,
and then...
Cocoa Bean seemed excited
for the first time since she'd been rescued.
One cheeseburger wasn't gonna be enough
to completely transform her,
but if she started taking Cocoa Bean
on more fun car trips,
maybe she'd trust Laura enough to finally feel happy.
A few days later, Laura brought her out
for her treat again.
Cocoa Bean was like, "I could get used to this!"
But she was still pretty timid.
Laura knew being a rescuer meant being very patient.
And a few trips later,
Cocoa Bean was actually coming out of the house on her own.
The treats were starting to work.
And on the 10th trip,
Laura could see Cocoa Bean knew exactly
what was coming, and she couldn't wait.
"Oh goodness."
This time, Laura decided to take her
to the park afterwards, and something amazing happened.
Cocoa Bean smiled for the first time.
Soon, Laura and Cocoa Bean were taking trips all the time.
Laura loved seeing her so happy,
and it turned out it wasn't only cheeseburgers
that made Cocoa Bean happy.
She loved being by the water, too.
"What a beauty."
But there was still something Cocoa Bean
was missing.
She didn't have a forever home.
Laura fostered lots of dogs,
and she couldn't keep Cocoa Bean forever.
She needed to make room in her house
and her heart for the next dog who needed her.
But that's when Laura got the most incredible news:
Cocoa Bean was being adopted
by a person who had a house on a lake.
Laura took Cocoa Bean for a trip
in the car for the last time, and she said goodbye.
"I love you so much, Mama."
"You're going to a beautiful home"
"by the lake with a loving mama."
She knew Cocoa Bean would have the best life
with someone who loved her and water,
and she would finally be happy.
All it took was a few cheeseburgers
and a lot of love.
Willie was so afraid of doorways,
wooden floors
and going down stairs
"Come on, you can do it!"
that his foster mom had to carry him outside to go to the bathroom.
And once he was out there,
he was scared to come back!
I guess it was because Willie had never lived in a house before,
so everything was new to him,
and scary!
"It's OK!"
But he’d need to learn how to live inside
before he could find his forever home.
"OK! It's OK! It's OK!"
"Oh, goodness! Come on!"
He wanted to be brave, but he was just too nervous!
Until
he found the one new thing in the house that wasn’t scary:
Carlo!
Willie was so excited to meet Carlo.
It wasn’t mutual.
Carlo wasn’t into high-energy dogs.
Carlo was a rule-follower,
and his most important rule was:
Only one dog in the bed, please!
He was not interested in Willie’s antics.
Then one day,
Willie’s foster mom was getting ready to take him to the store,
and Carlo was like,
“Me too! I want to come!”
When Carlo got in the car,
it was like something changed right away.
And when they got to the store,
they couldn’t stop chasing each other!
It was the strangest thing.
All of a sudden,
Carlo didn’t want space anymore.
He wanted to be wherever Willie was —
in a bed,
in the yard,
in a different bed.
"Oh, is that your Carlo?"
There was one major difference between them:
Willie wasn’t much of a rule-follower,
and Carlo was the first to let everyone know!
"Yeah, tell him, Carlo."
"Get out of their yard, dude!"
And then,
a funny thing happened:
Willie started feeling braver.
The house didn’t feel so new and scary with Carlo by his side.
Finally, Willie decided he was ready.
He wanted to conquer his fears.
He was nervous,
"Oh, my goodness! Good job!"
but he went down one shaky paw at a time.
Until...
"Good boy! You're doing it! Good boy!"
Then one day, when Willie’s foster mom opened the door,
she couldn’t believe what she saw!
"Good boy! Go sit down!"
Willie finally felt at home living inside,
and it was all thanks to his patient best friend!
Willie was ready to find his forever home.
"Are you going to miss Will Will?"
Carlo knew things wouldn’t be the same when Willie left.
Not only had Carlo helped Willie be brave,
but Willie had also helped Carlo let down his guard.
But that’s when they got good news.
Willie was only moving down the street,
which could only mean one thing:
lots more of this!
Because Carlo and Willie know
when you meet a best friend who helps you do something scary
or something new,
you’ll find your way back to each other!