Turns out Katniss had a double dose of bad luck: Her owners sacrificed her to the shelter not once but twice!

“We don’t really understand why,” says Haley Edman, marketing director for Dallas Pets Alive! “She didn’t have any medical issues.”

Abandoned twice? That can’t be good for any dog’s self-esteem.

“ She was probably down in the dumps and didn’t feel like anyone loved her,” says Edman. “Which couldn’t be further from the truth.”

But, thanks to Dallas Pets Alive and her new owners, Katniss emerged as a champion of “The Shelter Games”

“I went over and met her and fell in love with her and took a picture of her and sent it to my husband and we decided we wanted to get her,” says Laurie Young, Katniss’ new owner.

Now Katniss is getting used to her newfound life of luxury.

“She’s learning to cuddle and to love,” says Young. “When we first got her and would sit with her on the couch she would be to herself and off to the side. Now she’s right up there beside us.”

It’s a big change from her “dark days.”

“We know we gave her a second chance and I think she really understands that and appreciates it,” says Young.