Many of the animals that end up the West Milford Animal Shelter are brought in as strays. Tony is one of those strays. This young puppy was found by two residents wandering a local street in the cold weather and in very poor physical condition. He was malnourished and missing patches of fur. Because of his condition he was placed in the shelter’s medical isolation room, given food and water and thick warm bedding. He then underwent a medical exam and testing. The testing revealed that the he was infected with ringworm and had other medical concerns. Medical treatment was begun immediately and there were very strict instructions on the care and handling of this very sick puppy. The treatment of ringworm takes a very long time and requires testing after each period of the medication cycle. During this time, poor Tony received very limited physical contact with people and expose to ordinary living conditions. In the beginning of his treatment, he was always happy to see the volunteers and would wag his tail. As time went on, he became sad and depressed and would not eat. The volunteers were able to work with him and he began to eat and interact with the volunteers as his physical condition improved. But because of his situation, he missed out on a portion of the very important “puppy socialization” period of his life. Tony is very loving and curious and loves attention but he is very easily freighted or spooked by ordinary occurrences. An ordinary action, such as opening a refrigerator door could be very frightening to him. Tony will become an “ordinary” puppy and pet, but will need a specific type of home and family. The ideal family for Tony will have to accept him as he is and be willing to invest lots of time and love into helping Tony overcome his fears. They will have to have a great deal of patience, dedication, and understanding. Tony will not become the dog he is meant to be without special care and handling. Tony has shown he has the strength and will to survive and he will use them to overcome his problems with the help and care of a loving and dedicated family.