NESQUEHONING, Pa. - Throughout the challenges of the pandemic, many have gotten by with a little help from friends. But Tom Connors, director of the Carbon County Animal Shelter in Nesquehoning, went the distance to help a new furry friend.
To some, Connors is known to some as a dog whisperer.
“People do call me the dog guy, I have a good way with dogs, I feel very comfortable with them,” he says.
As the director of a local shelter, he has a lot of experience with pitbull mixes - which often get a bad rep for being aggressive. So, when a shelter near Pittsburgh called him to help with Thunder - a pitbull mix who’d been abused - Connors knew he had to help.
That weekend, he and his wife made the four hour drive to spend two days with Thunder. After a quick check in with the staff, he made his approach.
“I brought with me two double cheeseburgers, plain from Mcdonalds, I had them in my pocket and fed the dog through the kenne. Then I put the dog on a leash and took him out in the yard. First time in 12 days he was out of the kennel,” Connors says.
It was a big breakthrough. The shelter had tried a dozen other people before calling in Connors.
“It wasn’t amazing that I was there, it was amazing that they got me there, and that they weren’t ready to give up on this dog and it was just meant to be, I’m happy with the way it ended,” he says.
Connors says Thunder is doing a lot better and he hopes to visit the pup again before he is adopted.