When staff at the Humane Society of St. Thomas in the US Virgin Islands arrived one morning in March, they were met with a heartbreaking sight.
Chained to the outer gates were two Pitbull-cross dogs. Sadly, it wasn't an entirely unusual scene.
But as rescuers tried to approach, they realised this would be more challenging than they'd thought. The two dogs, later named Artemis and Athena, wouldn't let the volunteers anywhere near them.
As reported by The Dodo, Artemis and Athena remained huddled at the back of their kennel. They weren't growling out of aggression, but out of fear. They used each other as a shield and refused to eat if a person was in the room.
"It was as if they'd never seen human beings before, or if they had, it had only brought them pain," explained one of the volunteers.
A team of behaviourists
As you can imagine, this behaviour towards people made the volunteers' task much more difficult, and it also complicated any chance of adoption.
A team of behaviourists was called in to help. For weeks, volunteers simply sat in front of their kennel without looking at them, reading books aloud to get them used to the sound of a calm voice.
Then came the treats. Little by little, curiosity began to overcome fear. Artemis was the first to dare to lick cheese from a carer's hand. Seeing her sister was safe, Athena eventually followed suit.
A spectacular transformation
Gradually, the dogs began to relax and their behaviour started to change. Their transformation was so spectacular that they were soon put up for adoption. There was one non-negotiable condition: they had to be adopted together.
Today, Artemis and Athena have been adopted by a patient family who continue to let them go at their own pace.
