The Petco manager could sense that there was something off about a couple wandering around the store in Allen Park, Michigan, last Saturday evening.

The couple had two large dogs with them, neither of whom were wearing collars. The dogs’ leashes had been looped together into a makeshift slipknot — a red flag for the manager.

“Rachel [the manager] approached them about the dogs not having collars on,” Julie Sly wrote in a Facebook post. “The couple said they forgot them at home, they just needed to pick up a few things, and proceeded to the back of the store where the dog food is.”

The evasive couple was long gone by the time employees closing the store started to hear plaintive cries coming from the bathroom. They opened the stall and there stood the two old dogs, scared and alone.

The manager reached out to a local rescue, but they were too full to take the dogs, so she posted a plea for help on Facebook. Carol Lair, a board member of P.O.E.T Animal Rescue, saw the post and knew she had to help.

“It just kind of got to me about these old dogs,” Lair told The Dodo. “People get tired of them and they get rid of them.”

When Lair arrived at the Petco on Sunday morning, the bonded pair had clearly been traumatized by their ordeal. “They were very, very scared,” Lair said. “They were shaking and they wanted to be together.”

Lair helped them into the back of her car, but the older of the two dogs was curious and immediately climbed into Lair’s lap. “She rolled the window up and down, and then she started moving the seat forward and back,” Lair said. “It was kind of funny.”

The two dogs, whom volunteers have named Marigold and Daffodil, are now safely relaxing in a foster home.

While both pups appear well-fed, that doesn’t mean their lives have been easy. “It looks like they’ve been bred many, many times,” Lair said. “It looks like they’ve been used a lot.”

But the two dogs seem determined to show their rescuers that they still have a lot left to give. They love to play fetch and tug-of-war with their foster family and receive loving pets. However, meeting new people can pose a challenge.

“They like to be with people, but it takes them a little while to loosen up,” Lair said. “When they first meet someone and they’re standing there, their back ends are shaking really bad. It breaks my heart.”

“They’ve been through a lot,” Lair added. “We don’t even know the baggage they are bringing with them.”

Once the dogs are ready for adoption later this week, they will be spayed and vaccinated, and start searching for their forever home in earnest.

“Right now we’re just feeding them and keeping them warm and safe,” Lair said.

Marigold and Daffodil are both housebroken, and appear to be laid-back when it comes to interacting with cats and kids. But considering all they’ve been through, Lair believes they would do best in a home where they will be showered with the attention they so deserve.

“I would pick someone who is going to be home quite a bit and where they won’t be left alone a lot, because they do need some reassurance and confidence-building,” Lair said. “But I honestly think they’d do well in any home.”

Source: thedodo.com