( I take the pics for this rescues website so I remember this dog being just nuts, not one of the ones that you can cuddle up to...)
Right away when I tried to take him to my car I got smacked in the face twice pretty hard, and I thought oh dear what am I getting my self into? It took a half hour to arrange ourselves in the car. But the minute I drove away from the shelter he began to change. He relaxed and sat in the seat like a gentlemen, only bothering me for a belly rub during a stoplight.
Yes, he needed to be taught greeting people with a smack is just not the way to say "I love you" but once he learned that he surprised me everyday with what a nice dog he was. He was instantly buddies with Nik and sweet with my cats. He would pick up shoes and other non-doggy items and all I had to do was tell him to drop it and he would. He only has had one accident in the house (fully house-trained!) and has learned "sit", "Down", "shake" and "wait". His leash walking went from atrocious to decent, and pretty great on a 3 mile run. He sleeps all night long and is fine in his crate. Best part is he's a comic genius, his dopey and floppy demeanor provide my husband and I with laughs every day!! He's like a big puppy with better manners (now at least). So seeing his true colors I started to feel just terrible that this dog doesn't have a home.
Keep in mind, I am not keeping Carter, I want to keep fostering and although he is amazing, for now we are a one dog household. The more I foster the more I learn and the more dogs like Carter I can help. For this guy I have done all the help I can do, he's ready for someone to love. I guess the only thing holding him back is he is a big black adult dog, I guess that is one of the hardest dogs to get adopted. But why are people just looking at the outside of the dog? He's personality is wonderful, he is sweet as pie and as non-aggressive as it gets.He is not 100% jump proof but he no longer puts his paws on people, and when he has the occasional jumpy's as soon as I tell him "uh-huh" he sits down and waits for further instruction. I can take a bone out of his mouth. And he loves to cuddle, and put half his body on your lap, this is the kind of dog anyone could love.
So I decided to hold on to him as a foster, as long as I can, its hard to bring him back when I know the shelter makes him crazy. I only have a couple more days, but there are actually a couple applications (one from a cousin of mine) in for him so this might all work out magically. I am not a big hoper/prayer/wisher but I want a good life for this guy. Good news to come....hopefully, pics below...
