An abused puppy who spent the first four days of his stay with a foster carer hiding in a closet has finally learned what it's like to be loved.

Kelly Williams runs Kelaroo's Ruff Ranch, a nonprofit organization focused on saving abandoned and abused dogs in Texas. "I'm known for fostering troubled dogs—those who had shut down, been abused, or had severe medical issues," Williams told Newsweek. "One day, I got a call about this terrified puppy and was asked if I could help."

That puppy was Lenny, who had only recently arrived at his shelter having been taken away from his previous owner over concerns about animal cruelty.

"When I first saw Lenny, he was so scared that he wasn't eating and was curled up, trembling in the back of his kennel," Williams said. "He had been pulled from the euthanasia list at BARC, a high-kill shelter in Houston, and hadn't eaten for days. It broke my heart to see him like that, and I knew I had to do something."

Lenny might well have died had Rescued Pets Movement, the organization Williams fosters for, not intervened. They transport many dogs to Colorado and other states where the overpopulation crisis isn't as severe as in Houston.

It was clear that Lenny was struggling to adjust to shelter life. That's common enough. A 2006 study published in the journal Physiology and Behavior found dogs entering the shelter system had three times more of the stress hormone cortisol in their system than canines residing in a standard household.

That's where Williams came in as a foster carer. She was able to provide Lenny with the kind of environment needed to help him realize he was safe. It wasn't always an easy process though.

In a video posted by Williams, k9kelaroo, to TikTok, she showed how Lenny spent the first four days with her hiding out in a closet.

"Lenny was just so scared. He would let me go into the closet and cuddle him, but he wouldn't come out," Williams recalled. "He had no trust in humans or sounds, and given that he was just a pup who had only known abuse and unpredictable punishment, it was natural for him to retreat to a place where he felt safe."

There was something about that closet that provided Lenny with some much needed comfort though. "The closet was big, with a door that opened into a large bathroom and then into a bedroom, so he could see out and hear the rest of the house," Williams said. "He felt safe there, and while he was in the closet, he started eating and getting cozy, but he just wasn't ready to come out yet."

Those first few days together were an eye-opening experience for Williams. "Seeing him so vulnerable made me realize how much love and patience he needed," she said.

But Williams had handled troubled puppies before and knew the kind of positivity and perseverance that was required in this kind of situation. "I kept singing to him, bringing him rotisserie chicken, and maintaining a routine so he could predict his environment," she said. "There were lots of cuddles, and as he got more comfortable, I started being silly with him."

One morning, she finally got the breakthrough her efforts deserved. "I went into the bathroom, and he could see me. He peeked out, and I smiled at him. Suddenly, he just bounded out like a puppy, ran through the bedroom, and then back to the closet," she said. "He would come in and out, testing the waters. It was like something told him, 'You're safe now, baby... go be a puppy.' That moment was pure magic, and it brought tears to my eyes."

She said that Lenny became comfortable "pretty quickly" after that, often emerging from the closet to interact with Williams in her bedroom. "He would climb into my lap, and I would sing him lullabies and rock him, and he would just melt. After lullabies, I would get silly, and he would get the zoomies," she said. "After a day of that, he was ready to go and explore outside with some of our other dogs—the calm, friendly ones—that helped him so much."

Over the months that followed, Lenny came out of his shell. "Watching him transform from a scared puppy to a joyful one was incredibly rewarding," Williams said.

Eventually, it was decided he was ready: Lenny was adopted by a loving family in Colorado through a partner rescue called 2 Blondes All Breed Rescue. "He's growing up with two young, energetic boys and gets plenty of love, attention and exercise," Williams said. "Knowing that he's in a place where he's cherished and happy fills my heart with so much joy."

Williams hopes Lenny's story will inspire others to adopt and foster but she also hopes it will make them see that these pets need patience. "Like us, dogs and puppies need time to feel safe after trauma. You can't expect them to just come home and be grateful right away," she said. "Every dog like Lenny deserves a chance to feel safe and loved, and we have the power to give them that."