Jackie Rakers was scrolling through Facebook on her lunch break in February 2019 when she first spotted Heaven — then a scared 5-month-old rescue pup in need of a foster home — and fell in love.
“I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, I love this dog,'” says Rakers. “She was where she was meant to be. And we’ve been together ever since.”
For more on Heaven and other top stories, listen below toour daily podcast PEOPLE Every Day.
“Heaven is my social butterfly,” says Rakers of her now 3-year-old pooch. “I’ve made some amazing friends the past two and a half years, that I never would have met without Heaven.”
Cynthia Lynn
But Heaven wasn’t always the happy, easygoing dog her more than 10,000 Instagram followers (@heaven_is_a_dog) know today. She started out as a stray in Kentucky who was then transported from an overcrowded shelter to theStarfish Animal Rescue. Initially afraid of “everything” — especially men and the outdoors — Heaven displayed “intense” anxiety, says Rakers. So Rakers began taking Heaven to parks and dog-friendly businesses like Home Depot, where she’d teach Heaven to get comfortable with new sights and sounds.
“Anytime a cart came past and made noise, or a man walked past, she learned that if she made eye contact with me instead of reacting, she got a treat,” says Rakers. “We worked through a lot of fears together.”
Since then, Heaven has become a familiar face all over town. (Home Depot even gifted her a tiny apron.) “She’s got the best shopping manners; she goes with me everywhere,” says Rakers, who’s also taken the lovable mutt on road trips to 30 different states. Rakers and Heaven have hiked in Montana, visited the Grand Canyon, and toured the Las Vegas strip.
“You can stop at a gas station, and she’s excited,” says Rakers.
Rakers hopes that Heaven’s journey and the challenges she’s overcome prove inspiring to people.
“I feel like the biggest thing that I learned from her was just not to give up,” she says. “Heaven went through a lot really early in her life. Things that no dogs should have to go through. But she still loves life.”
Joining Heaven in the World’s Cutest Rescue Dog Contest winner’s circle are Aslan and Panda, the runners-up of this year’s contest.
Carly Deliseo
Marketing coordinator Carly D’Eliseo, 29, first saw 5-year-old pit bull mix Panda atCody’s Friends Rescuein Dallas in March 2020 and knew they were meant for each other. Since then, they’ve become inseparable, and Panda’s loving personality has inspired her owner to foster other dogs — with Panda’s help — so they can find their own forever homes.
Chloe Reed Photography
source: people.com
