Myko is a dog with a difficult fate. His owners took him from an overcrowded shelter in Southern California, but he was scared and shy. His previous owners abused him, leaving him with mental wounds. But it wasn’t until they saw this adorable face that Elena and her husband fell in love with Miko at first sight.
They helped Miko overcome all his fears and become happier, but some problems continued to plague him. Miko was very sensitive. He would get very anxious whenever he heard the sound of a ventilation fan, not to mention the rumble of fireworks. When Meeko was frightened, he could bark for a long time, and nothing seemed to calm him down.

“He had been rescued from a high-kill shelter in South Carolina, and prior to being at the shelter, there had been some kind of neglect,” Elena, Myko’s mom, who asked her last name not be used, told The Dodo. “When we saw photos of him, it was love at first sight … His little face on the screen with those enormous brown eyes instantly spoke to both of us, and we knew that we had to rescue him.”
The owners had tried many methods, but it turned out that the most effective one had been lying in their closet all along. It turned out to be Miko’s Halloween costume with bunny ears.

The bandage on the ears instantly made Miko look completely relaxed. Even the sight of those ears, as the owner noticed, immediately calmed the dog down. She periodically puts his ears on when she sees Miko getting anxious – and it works beautifully.

“We had read about how clothing that is form-fitting  or pressure around their ears can be calming for dogs who are in a high state of arousal,” Elena said. “We had purchased an Eeyore Halloween costume for him a few months back, so we pulled out the droopy ears portion of it. We put them on him and he instantly became very quiet and calm.”

Happy Miko is happy that he has much less to worry about!

“If he gets a reminder that he will need to wear them, he may just become quiet and then walk away to do something else,” Elena said. “When we pull them out or he sees them, he also may quiet down.”