Back in September, and the way she looked fit her name. Her entire tiny body was bright red from a bad case of mange and she was terrified of her new surroundings. It took a little while for the shelter staff and volunteers to break her out of her shell, but once they did, she transformed into the most incredible little dog.

“She was hard to get out of her kennel because she was so fearful,” Megan Dashley, a shelter volunteer, told The Dodo. “She had to be carried outside by most volunteers, but once outside away from the noise, she came to life. At the park bench that first day taking her out was when I realized her infinite love for balls. Basketballs, weighted medicine balls, tennis balls, balls that are supposed to be indestructible do not stand a chance with Cherry. With time, she began to let her guard down and became a fan of so many volunteers. She would roughhouse and romp around in play group and she was just a light.”

“She’s not herself,” volunteers wrote on Facebook. “She’s not comfortable. She’s not confident.”

Poor Cherry has been shaking whenever she’s in her kennel. She’s confused and just wants a family to love. The sweet little dog has been adopted and returned a few times and has had several different foster homes over the course of her stay at the shelter. Now what she desperately needs is the stability of a forever home.

“Outside of the shelter, Cherry shines so bright,” Dashley said. “She smiles from ear to ear when she is comfortable, happy and at peace.”

Everyone at the shelter is rooting so hard for Cherry. They just want her to feel safe and loved, and they know the right family for her is out there somewhere.

“This girl is a national treasure and a hidden gem,” Dashley said. “Someone would be SO LUCKY to be in her aura and get to absorb the amount of love she has to give.”