

Shorty has been with his dad, Marc, for eleven long years. Marc rescued him from a shelter in Philadelphia and, since then, Shorty began following his dog dad everywhere. Marc calls him “angel dog”, which only goes to show how special their bond is.

However, Shorty started to suffer from health issues due to aging. At 15, he’s no longer as active as before. Because of that, most of the time, Shorty needs to stay home. Age does not make him miss Marc any less though.



Marc’s work requires him to travel a lot. Sadly, this, combined with his aging, makes Shorty suffer from separation anxiety. Whenever Marc is not around, Shorty barks and cries. Nothing calms him down, not even Kristen, Marc’s wife.

The couple, Marc and Kristen Peralta, are running the Vintage Pet Rescue. It is a senior dogs’ hospice and retirement home in Rhode Island. When Kristen finally realized that her love and other senior dogs’ company wouldn’t make Shorty’s separation anxiety any better, she started to think of more creative ways.

Initially, Kristen covered a pillow with Marc’s shirt. Unfortunately, the trick did not work on Shorty. Then, Kristen had another idea. She thought of using the life-sized dummy that her mom ordered from a Halloween store.

Kristen was skeptical at first, but she was desperate to ease Shorty’s suffering. So, she put Marc’s used shirt on the dummy. She purposely picked the used clothing, so it still had Marc’s smell. Then, she sat Shorty on the dummy’s lap and wrapped the dummy’s arms around him.

To her surprise, her plan worked. Shorty fell asleep within thirty minutes. Shorty slept the entire night wrapped around the dummy’s arms. The other dogs in the rescue center are enjoying the dummy too, making it the most famous “volunteer” at the shelter.

Marc was a little upset because he was easily replaced, said Kristen. But she reassured him that there’s nothing to worry about because the dummy isn’t nearly as smart or handsome as him. Marc doesn’t see his resemblance with the dummy, but he’s happy to know that Shorty is happy.

Credits: Vintage Pet Rescue