Jackie Rakers was on her lunch break in February 2019 when she came across Heaven, a fearful 5-month-old rescue dog who was in need of a foster home. She immediately fell in love with Heaven and decided to adopt her.
“I snapped a photo of her and stared at it for the rest of the night. And before the end of my lunch break, I had sent an email to the rescue organization “According to the 30-year-old buying worker from St. Charles, Illinois.
Heaven was adopted from the Starfish Animal Rescue in Plainfield, Illinois, two days later, and within weeks, Rakers had built a strong attachment with “the small little ball of a fluffy puppy.” A month later, she was able to finalize her adoption.
“I was like, ‘Oh my god, I really adore this dog,'” Rakers recalls of his first reaction. “She had arrived exactly where she was supposed to be. Since then, we’ve been in a relationship.”
PEOPLE’s annual World’s Cutest Rescue Dog Contest, sponsored by the PEDIGREE® brand, featured Heaven as the winner this year, and thousands of voters agreed that Heaven was irresistible. The 38-pound pup — which is a mix of chow chow, Labrador, boxer, and Pekingese — took first place in the competition, beating out more than 10,000 other cute rescues. One of her awards will be a year’s supply of dog food, and another will be a $1,000 contribution to an animal rescue organization of her choosing.
“Heaven is my social butterfly,” Rakers says of her puppy, who is now three years old. “I’ve met some incredible people over the last two and a half years, people I would never have met if it hadn’t been for Heaven.”
Heaven, on the other hand, wasn’t always the joyful, easygoing puppy that her more than 10,000 Instagram fans (@heaven is a dog) are used to seeing now. She began her life as a stray in Kentucky before being rescued and sent to the Starfish Animal Rescue after being overloaded at a local shelter.
Heaven, according to Rakers, was first terrified of “everything,” particularly males and the outdoors. She also demonstrated “severe” anxiety. As a result, Rakers started bringing Heaven to dog-friendly places such as parks and companies like Home Depot, where she would encourage Heaven to become comfortable with new sights and noises.
“She learned that if she kept eye contact with me instead of responding when a cart passed by and made noise or a guy went by, she would get a reward,” Rakers explains. “We worked together to overcome a lot of our worries.”
Heaven has now established herself as a well-known figure across the community. A little apron from Home Depot was also given to her. Besides traveling with Rakers on road trips to 30 different states, the lovely dog has the nicest shopping etiquette. “She travels with me everywhere,” Rakers says of the beloved pooch. They’ve gone hiking in Montana, seen the Grand Canyon, and walked the Las Vegas strip. Rakers and Heaven have also gone camping.
“You can make a pit stop at a gas station, and she’ll be thrilled,” Rakers explains.
Rakers believes that Heaven’s journey and the hardships she’s faced will serve as an inspiration to other individuals.
‘I feel like the most important thing I learnt from her was simply to never give up,’ adds the young woman. “At a young age, Heaven had to deal with a lot of difficulties. Things that no dog should have to go through in their lifetime. She, on the other hand, is still enthusiastic about life.”
Aslan and Panda, this year’s runners-up in the World’s Cutest Rescue Dog Contest, have joined Heaven in the winner’s circle of the World’s Cutest Rescue Dog Contest.
Carly D’Eliseo, 29, a marketing coordinator, first spotted Panda, a 5-year-old pit bull mix, at Cody’s Friends Rescue in Dallas in March 2020 and immediately felt they were destined to be together. As a result, they’ve grown inseparable, and Panda’s caring demeanor has motivated her owner, with Panda’s assistance, to foster more dogs who will eventually find their own forever homes.
With the help of Puppy Haven Rescue in Tulsa, Aslan the Chow Chow, a 1-year-old chow chow who was abandoned by his original owners, was adopted by Matthew Porter and Jennifer Wyckoff Porter in December 2020. This summer, the couple brought their first child, Rosie, into the world, and Aslan has taken to the role of “big brother,” sleeping by Rosie’s side and kissing her small feet.
