‘He came home a stranger, now he’s family’: Previously mistreated rescue dog Bray wins over his new cat siblings and claims a loving furever family of his very own

Most cats do not take kindly to change. Especially not the kind that slobbers, pants, and takes up half the living room rug. So when Bray the big ol' hound dog with a sad past, came trotting through the front gate, fresh off a long drive from his last-chance rescue, the cats were… less than thrilled. One peek through the window and they were already calculating the risk-to-tuna ratio.

At first, they watched from afar, tails twitching, ears back, eyes narrowed. They had survived toddlers, vacuum cleaners, and that one time the fire alarm went off. But this was a new test. Bray, a once-mistreated dog with a past as heavy as his paws, had no idea he was under feline surveillance. All he wanted was a second chance, and maybe a nap in the sun.

And slowly, he earned it. He didn't chase, didn't bark, didn't steal their food (well… not often). He simply existed, with the kind of gentle heart that even cats could sense. Now, a year later, the backyard is no longer enemy territory; it's shared ground. The cats have accepted Bray not just as a housemate but as part of the pride. He came home a stranger. Now, he's family.

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The day rescue Bray came home.

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The cats' reaction to me pulling up at the gate and letting Bray out into the yard, and the rest of the story is pretty obvious.
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THE STORY FROM OP:
I adopted a doge who was a day away from being euthanized. By chance, I came across an ad on Gumtree of all places, for an urgent rehoming needed for a previously mistreated hound doge. Located over 2.5 hours from me… Reading the description, I couldn’t let the outcome he faced take place. Having four cats myself meant that I would even take him in just for a few months. On a bigger block property at my place in regional NSW, I would then be able to bide the time before rehoming him somewhere he could thrive.
I made the drive to the place he was at and was met, for the first time ever, with an uncertainty I had about approaching a dog. Which was an odd one, because that’s never occurred, but he seemed like he could and would quite easily rip my limbs off and beat me with them.
I started to wonder why in the world I thought this was a feasible plan to save him. He was living with a family who had rescued him two years earlier from an abandoned yard, where he’d been chained up for the better part of a couple years. To the point his skin had grown around the chain in some parts and worn a perfect wound around his neck, and he was missing a rear toe.
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THE STORY CONTINUED:
He had the chain surgically removed and lived the next two years with this awesome family, who unfortunately had to make a last-minute move back to NZ to care for a sick family member. Which meant surrendering the rescue doge, Bray. But as the owner explained to me, they would take one look and euthanize him due to his uncertain behavior, which she vouched was a complete show with strangers.
As uncertain as I felt, I could see the home and the life they had given him since they rescued him. And something just made me take her word for it. So I took him. And as of the beginning of June, it marked one year since he’s been with me. I email the previous owners with updates and photos because what was supposed to be a couple of months until I managed to find him a full-time home quickly turned into him staying on with me for life.
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