Justine Vincent, of Kurow, took on her mother's 3-year-old bichon-shih-tzu-Maltese cross when it became clear the animal could not stay in Christchurch because she could not cope with the continued aftershocks resulting from the devastating earthquake in 2011.
The animal was in an ''unbelievable'' state when she first arrived in Kurow, Miss Vincent said.
''Ruby was quite out of control, actually. You couldn't leave her alone. She just about ate through my whole front door.
''If a truck went past she would just go absolutely mental, because she would think another earthquake was coming with the rumblings.''
However, she was able to find herbal calming tablets for animals, which helped calm the dog down, Miss Vincent said.
Once Ruby reached the stage where she could be left alone, she was taken back to Miss Vincent's mother in Christchurch, in July.
Although Ruby ran round in circles barking when there was a 4.6 magnitude aftershock about midnight on Monday in Christchurch, she handled the event much better than she had previously, Miss Vincent said.
''She's coping better during earthquakes. When there was an earthquake at my house, she chewed off the door. She's a lot better. It's probably just becoming part of the norm now.''
Ruby's owner, Marilyn Vincent, said her dog was home alone during the February 2011 earthquake and had been ''a very stressed little dog'', before returning from North Otago.