Asta (aka Astra)

Asta (named after the dog in the movie The Thin Man) came to RAPS a few years ago as a young adult. Afraid of humans, she opted to live on the enclosed deck behind the singlewide where she stayed as far away from humans as possible.

When staff decided it was time for her to go to the vet for a dental a few weeks ago, respecting her wishes to have nothing to do with us wasn't an option. And this turned out to be a good thing. Here's what Leslie had to say:

"While she was caged and on antibiotics afterward, I decided to try approaching her. She never emerged from behind her hidey drape. When I touched her, she immediately responded in a positive way, so I continued. For 2 weeks, I visited her daily and stroked the heck out of her, because she loved it. She'd flop on her side to invite tummy rubs and pushed her head into my arm. I definitely won her over. Then, I released her and continued to approach her for pets. She no longer runs away from me and now feels brave enough to go inside the warm building, instead of living out in the cold. I'm so happy that she can now live more comfortably with us."

When I asked Leslie to introduce me on Monday, Asta, back out on the porch, took one look at the stranger Leslie had brought and fled to the rafters. It looks like we all still have some work to do to make sure Asta doesn't forget that we're really not so bad.