Shorty the senior pug and his dad are inseparable. Marc’s wife told People, “The relationship between Marc and Shorty is very special. Marc is Shorty’s person. He just adores him and is the happiest when he is in Marc’s arms. When he was younger, Shorty would travel with Marc everywhere, but it’s not possible now with his age. Marc calls Shorty his ‘angel’ dog. Shorty really taught Marc how to love and care for another living thing.”
Marc and his wife, Kristen are based in Rhode Island where they provide hospice care to homeless senior and sick pets. Together they founded Vintage Pet Rescue. Shorty, now 15 years old, spends his days running around with his friends
Shorty used to go everywhere with his dad, Marc, but now that he’s a bit older, it’s harder to travel with him. Shorty’s separation anxiety became an issue, and Kristen had difficulty consoling him. She said, “Unfortunately, Marc has to travel a good amount for work and Shorty gets very anxious when he is away. Shorty will bark and cry and nothing will calm him down. He won’t even calm down if I am holding him. In the past, I tried putting one of Marc’s shirts on a pillow, but it didn’t really work. I felt so helpless trying to calm him down when Marc was away.”
So Kristen and her mom came up with a, well, unique solution. They ordered a life-size mannequin and put Marc’s clothes on it. The clothes were already worn, so they maintained Marc’s scent, and they even put replicas of Marc’s tattoos on the mannequin’s arm. They dubbed the mannequin “Farc” or “Fake-Marc” and waited to see Shorty’s response.
“Shorty’s reaction was truly incredible. He had been crying and barking all day. I put him on Farc’s lap and wrapped the arms around him. He snuggled into the shirt and he was asleep within a half hour. He slept like that through the night. I was amazed. I really could not believe that it worked!” she says.
Apparently, “Farc” is popular with the other pups around the home too. He can often be seen with two or three pups snuggling up. Moral of the story, if your pup suffers from separation anxiety, don’t rule out buying a mannequin of yourself!
For more pictures of Farc snuggling with senior pups, be sure to follow @Vintage_Pet_Rescue on Instagram.
See full story on People.com
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