The Very Worst !! And The Very Best !! In Animal Rescue..
Maxwell's story demonstrates two very different sides to animal rescue...HEARTBREAK and HOPE!!

On the one hand, we have a dog who is so terrified and traumatised that one hardly wants to think about what may have happened to him in his short life.. On the other hand, we have special carers who offer nothing but love and patience to help Maxwell overcome his past. Keryn and David have the very challenging task of teaching Max to trust people and to look forward to a happier life.
 
I think this message which I received when I asked Keryn how things were going with Max probably says it all:

"Max is doing as well as can be expected. He is still a very frightened little man but he has relaxed a lot around me. The first week he had trouble keeping his food down because he was so stressed so I had to just feed him small amounts often until he calmed down enough to keep food down. He has managed to put on a little weight now which is good.
He is absolutely terrified of men and I really mean terrified. I got a shirt which had been worn by my husband and had it with me when I fed him during the second week but, just that one sniff of a man, and he ran and hid in the garden.. Dave has been working very slowly and carefully to gain Max's trust and now, after 4 weeks, he can just manage a little pat if I am there with him.

Max is a very curious pup who collects anything and everything (bedding, toys, sticks, plants, his trampoline bed lol) and then spends most of the night dragging it all into the centre of the yard. This plus occasional digging for crickets kept him up all night so we have been giving him CBD oil to help him relax and sleep at night.

We walk him twice a day; I take him before I go to work in the morning and Dave walks with us at night. Max gets quite scared to walk during daylight hours - too many people and traffic - so we do our walking in the dark at the moment. If he sees anyone in the street, he freezes or wants to take off. If they get too close or startle him (like the pushbike rider this morning) he really freaks out. I walk him with two leads - one lead and harness and one lead on his collar - as an extra safeguard so he can't make a getaway. So Max is a beautiful little man but it is going to take some time to build his trust and try to undo the damage that has been done. However, we will just take it slowly, avoid the things which frighten him, give him plenty of love and, with time, we hope that we will have a happy little man."
 
I think you will agree that Keryn and Dave are very special people who are doing their best to counteract the others who create fear in defenceless animals.