(bright music) - Hi, I'm Karen Kalunian.

And today, we're gonna be talking about an adoption success story.

Today we're here with Handsome Dan's Rescue.

And Heather Gutshall, the founder.

And our buddy, Sesame.

And we're gonna be talking about a success story for a dog fighting survivor.

And that's this guy, right here.

So Heather, tell us a little bit about Sesame, and his history, and how you found him the best home.

- We got a call that there were a group of survivors in Arkansas, and they needed to be evaluated a day and a half before the civil case to decide their fate.

So we flew down the same day, Holly Dephny and I did.

And... - He's a chunk.

- He's a chunky guy.

- He looks good now.

- And we found several dogs.

He just really stood out.

Oh.

He really stood out.

I mean, his scars tell a lot of stories.

- [Karen] Good boy.

- [Heather] And he just, the minute we met him, he just kind of collapsed into our arms in this just sigh of, oh my God, what I've been through.

- Desperation.

- Absolutely.

And we just knew we had to bring him home with us.

So our volunteer, Matt McCall, flew down, drove him back.

He came to my house for foster care.

- For how many months?

- Close to a year, I believe.

- I think people don't understand what goes into.

- He took, yeah.

He needed a lot of behavioral modification where he didn't know what a house was.

He didn't know that you're not supposed to potty in a house.

He didn't know that he was allowed on a couch.

He didn't know that it's preferable to pee outside.

- And that makes it so difficult for him because it's a whole new process of learning how to be a dog.

- Absolutely.

And we say, these dogs don't need to be rehabbed, they need to recover.

So, recover from the trauma that they'd suffered, from no socialization to the outside world.

I mean, his chain was 25 pounds, only a little bit less than what he actually weighed.

And then that-- - At the time.

Because you can't judge it now by the size of him.

- No, he's nice and healthy now.

- And so, after you rehab a dog like this, how do you find the perfect home for him?

Because not everybody wants a dog, obviously, that has all of these scars, and a back history such as that he's been through.

I just don't know how you find the right family.

And obviously, you did - Well, I did.

Well, we did, everybody did.

We tell their story.

I really try to tell their story.

We do not speculate.

But we tell their story the best that we can.

And we do that for future survivors as well.

If someone doesn't adopt the current one, maybe that'll start to change their mind and the landscape for dog fighting survivors.

- And Sesame, you're one of the lucky ones, right buddy?

You found the best home.

Your mom and dad love you.

Your whole family loves you.

- They'd had the most amazing Christmas photo where they all dressed up in pj's, including Sesame.

- Oh my goodness.

Sesame, what a lucky boy you are.

And you look like you're being well fed and well taken care of.

- He deserves it.

- Good boy.

Oh, thank you so much.

Heather, you're amazing.

The work that you do here at Handsome Dan's Rescue is really something inspiring.

- It's a team, team effort.

- And now look, look at you.

A happy boy and a happy home.

Thank you for taking the time to show us Sesame today, and talk all about dog fighting survivors, and their success stories.

- Thank you.

- [Karen] To watch more videos like this, visit ripbs.org/animaltalk.

(dog barks)