AUSTIN, Texas — A Texas dog who came close to being euthanized now has a new home in Austin, years after her life was saved by a petition.
For years, Simon Gong could only dream about having a four-legged friend.
"I've always wanted a dog, for the longest time," Gong said.
Now with the money and time to support one, he went for it. However, during his first two attempts to find the right companion, things weren't working.
"None of the dogs really took to me," Gong said.
Then he met Lyra.
"She had no problem walking up to me, sniffing me and jumping on me," Gong said. "We just seemed to connect right away."
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While she is now named "Lyra," people might recognize her former names – "Lamb of God" or "Lambie."
In 2017, a Dallas judge ordered Lambie to be put down because she bit three kids. Her former owner, Sean Baugh, used the dog to make money, having strangers pay to take a picture with her. The people in the community gathered 130,000 signatures and $10,000 to reverse the dog's death penalty.
Lambie was then sent to Austin Pets Alive!
Hannah Horstman is the corporate relations officer for Austin Pets Alive!, and she said there were some bad habits in place when the dog first got there.
"She had some behavior kinks that needed to be worked out," Horstman said. "We were working on moving slow with her and moving slow for introductions with other humans and other animals."
She said their behavior team spent a lot of one-on-one time with her, who they renamed "Bo Peep."
"From there, it was just working with desensitizing her to different situations," Horstman said. "Reintroducing the idea of trust or maybe even introducing the idea of trust."
In May 2018, the team decided she was ready to be adopted again. Then in September, she met Simon, who renamed her "Lyra."
"Simon and Lambie had a comfortable connection," Horstman said.
"She's my little furry baby," Gong said. "She's with me forever."
Since Lyra left Dallas, both Horstman and Gong said she has not bitten anyone at any point.
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