Kizim

Kızım has spent most of her life waiting for someone to choose her.

She was found on the streets of Ankara after being neutered and released by the shelter. When volunteers first found her, she was skin and bones — so weak that even walking was difficult. They took her under their wings, fed her, treated her and slowly helped her become the beautiful girl she is today.

Kızım is a gentle, wonderfully quiet and incredibly sweet girl. She can be a little shy at first, but once she has had some time to get to know you, she will happily come closer, lean into your touch and give you the sweetest little kisses. She is affectionate without being demanding and is perfectly content simply being near her people. She loves waking up to cuddles, receiving some attention — and apparently, watching TV!

At home, Kızım is an absolute dream. She is house-trained, doesn’t chew things, settles beautifully and can stay home alone for up to six hours without problems. She is remarkably quiet — we have barely heard her bark at all. She loves a good bone, while toys, balls and noisy objects don’t really interest her.

She is also wonderful with other dogs and has spent years living peacefully alongside many canine friends. Even when another dog barks at her on a walk, she doesn’t respond with aggression. She has shown no interest in chasing cats or birds either, although she has not been formally tested with cats.

Kızım is still adjusting to life in the Netherlands. Unfortunately, just a few days after arriving, she heard several extremely loud banging noises while walking in her new neighbourhood. The experience frightened her, and she now seems worried about encountering those noises there again.

For now, she takes two 15–20 minute walks a day around her neighbourhood, which is enough for her potty needs. But importantly, this hesitation appears to be very location-specific — because take Kızım somewhere else and you see a completely different side of her!

She loves going on adventures by car. In fact, when she goes outside for a potty break, she will often sit in front of the passenger seat as though she is asking to come along for a ride. Take her to another park, neighbourhood or area and she is perfectly happy to enjoy a much longer walk and explore.

This is incredibly encouraging. Her current hesitation seems connected to a frightening experience in one particular place, which happened while she was still adjusting to the enormous change of moving to a new country.

Kızım is sensitive to loud and sudden noises such as fireworks, thunderstorms and banging sounds, so she would flourish with calm, patient people who can help her feel secure. She doesn’t need someone who expects her to be fearless — just someone willing to let her confidence grow at her own pace.

She is currently carrying a little extra weight, but with a healthy diet and regular exercise — especially those adventures she enjoys so much — she can gradually become fitter too.

Kızım survived abandonment and starvation, followed by four long years of waiting. Through it all, she somehow remained the gentle, loving and peaceful girl she is today.

Now she needs what she has been waiting for all these years:

A home. A family. Someone to open the passenger door for her next adventure. And, finally, someone who chooses her.

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