This post is in collaboration with Chewy.com. As always, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Disclaimer:
First of all, just let me say that Sully is a very happy little boy. But for some reason, he always ends up looking either stoic or depressed in photos. (Case in point.)
Secondly, this experience has taught me to never be a pet photographer. Sully is usually incredibly calm, but when the camera was on him, he just got way too excited. That’s why a few photos are blurry and you see my assistant husband helping to keep him in one place.

We rescued Sully on March 13th (Friday the 13th of all days!) after a friend of a friend found him in their garage. Our sweet Elby passed away in December after a short battle with lymphoma, and it wasn’t long before we realized that our house was just way too quiet without a little fur baby to greet us when we came home. So it just seemed like perfect timing for us.

We picked “Charlie” up one Friday night and were immediately in love. We decided to name him Sullivan since we already have a Charlie and Charles in the family. After a visit to the vet the next week, we learned that he was about 4 years old and had a slew of health concerns. Unfortunately, he had picked up some intestinal worms, which were probably a big part of why he was so undersized and gaunt. Luckily a three-day dewormer took care of those and we learned that he did in fact like to eat! Sully also has a pretty bad case of heart worms. He’s undergone his first treatment, and will have two more over the next few months. I think it’s safe to say we felt very overwhelmed at first and were worried we bit off more than we could chew, but he’s been a trooper and has completely won us over. He’s such a little snuggle bug, and he snorts and snores constantly. It’s adorable. We nicknamed him “Piggy.”

The biggest problem we’ve had with Sully is his inability to be left alone. When we would leave him outside, he jumped the fence and ran off. When we left him in a metal crate, he literally ripped the door off. (Did I mention that he’s incredibly strong?!) We borrowed an “indestructible” airline crate from our local shelter, but Sully would go crazy when we left him. Whether we were gone for 15 minutes or 3 hours, he would vomit and then usually hurt himself trying to get free. We became prisoners in our own house, unable to leave for fear of what he might do. The last straw came when we returned home one evening and Sully had broken the steel door to the crate, which had a metal lock on it. Like I said, he’s got superhero strength.

Chewy.com reached out to me at just the perfect time, and we decided to try the Thundershirt that others had told us about. We put it on him for the first time and stayed home to see how he would react. He loved it! We could tell he felt special with it on. It was adorable.

Next, we tried leaving him for just 5 or 10 minutes at a time while we drove around the block. We left him out in the house with his Thundershirt on, and were elated when we returned home to find that he had not peed, pooped, vomited, or torn anything up. He seemed content. It was a Thundershirt miracle!!

Here’s how it works: Thundershirt uses gentle hugging to calm your dog. The gentle, constant pressure has a dramatic calming effect for most dogs if they are anxious, fearful or overexcited. Over 80% of dogs show significant improvement in symptoms when using Thundershirt.

A few weeks later, we can now leave Sully alone at home for hours at a time. And everyone’s quality of life is so much better. I can’t say enough about the Thundershirt from Chewy.com! If you are having trouble with your dog’s (or cat’s) anxiety, I would high recommend trying the Thundershirt. The shirts for dogs come in 7 different sizes, so you’re sure to find one that will fit your pet.

Chewy also offers an Autoship program. You just set up your monthly shipment, which can include food, toys, medicines, etc.  It’s free and easy to set up, and you can cancel or change your order at any time. Right now, you can get 20% off your first Autoship order! Just click here to get started.

Do you have an anxious pet? Have you tried the Thundershirt?