The dog weighed a mere seven pounds and was pregnant when Shirley Zindler finally coaxed her out of the makeshift shelter in a rural part of Sonoma County, California.
It took a couple of hours for Zindler and another officer to convince the dog, who was starving, to leave the hollowed-out tree and eat Zindler's treats.
But it wasn't long for the dog to show just how little she trusted humans.
'She struggled in my arms, eyes bugging in terror and trying to bite,' Zindler wrote in a post for The Bark. 'Her ribs and hips were clearly visible...back at the shelter the dog submitted miserably to handling.'
The dog was reported to Zindler's department by a resident, who believed she had been living inside the tree for at least a week.
Another animal control officer named the dog 'Boo' after To Kill A Mockingbird character Boo Radley, a mysterious and misunderstood recluse who leaves gifts for Jem and Scout in a tree knothole.
Zindler said Boo was found near an area where people are known to abandon their dogs, she told the Huffington Post.
'We see a lot of pets abandoned like that,' Zindler told The Dodo. 'Poor baby. She was like a wild little creature out there, trying to survive.'
Zindler said Boo was 'scared to death' and had a rough couple of first days when she went into labor and required emergency surgery. None of her puppies survived.
'Boo was traumatized and overwhelmed,' Zindler wrote in The Bark.
'She didn't seem to have had any positive interactions with people so I took her home to foster her while she recovered from surgery and learned to trust.'
Zindler has been documenting Boo's progress on her Facebook page, The Secret Life of Dog Catchers, where she revealed in an early post that Boo 'gets no joy from human contact'.
She said this was due to long-term effects from Boo not being handled by humans during the 'critical stages of puppyhood'.
But, Zindler was quick to note, there has been progress.
She wrote that Boo had fallen under the wing of Patty, a 'happy, confident' older dog who had once been abandoned herself and was now helping Boo come out of her shell.
'Her sweet, calm presence is helping Boo learn that she is safe,' Zindler said.
Zindler wrote that although it is likely Boo will 'bond with people at some point', it is going to be a 'long, slow process' that will 'take a very patient and dedicated adopter' who loves a challenge.
And until that right person comes along, Boo will always have a place to stay with Zindler who, despite already having four dogs of her own, wants to make sure Boo becomes prepared for a 'forever home'.
(Daily Mail - May 4, 2015)
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