Cleveland, OHADOPTED! January 4, 2017
| Arrival Date: | 11/30/2016 |
| Breed: | Terrier Mix |
| Gender: | Male |
| Age: | 1 year |
| Weight: | 20-25# |
| Personality: | Happy-Go-Lucky, Energetic |
| Fully Vaccinated: | Yes |
| Microchipped: | Yes |
| Spayed/Neutered: | Yes |
| In foster Home: | Yes |
| Dog Social: | Yes |
| Crate Trained: | No |
| House Trained: | 95% |
| Kid-Friendly: | Yes – No babies, older kids OK (6+) |
| Cat-Friendly | Unknown |
| Origin: | Lakewood Animal Control Transfer |
| Adoption Fee: | $200 |
Baxter is a young, scruffy, terrier mix. He was found running the streets of Lakewood and traced back to his owner who had admittedly tied him to a fence post for someone she had arranged to pick him up after posting him as a free dog on Craiglist. The person never came to get him and he must have chewed himself off the pole and ran. Luckily he was safely contained at the shelter and then once they confirmed the owner did not want him he was transferred to us. We vaccinated him and had him neutered.
When he arrived he was very shy at first but after a day of meeting new friends he warmed right up and has been a delight. He moved to a foster home for about three weeks and is now ready to find a forever home. Baxter is up to date on shots, spayed and microchipped.
FOSTER CARE REPORT
Baxter LOVES kids, seems to love other dogs. Cat curious – perhaps TOO curious (based on two experiences at my parents’ house – they have a senior cat who is fairly mean.)
Leash walking: He is somewhat of a disaster on a leash, although he’s doing a lot better. Don’t think he’d been exposed to walks much before because he wouldn’t pee or poop while on a walk, only to come home and sit by the back door and THEN go to the bathroom outside. I put him on a harness and would not recommend walking him with other dogs b/c he thinks it’s playtime and starts jumping and doing all the play behaviors while on the walk. Hard to get him to stay focused and keep walking.
Housebreaking: He is about 95% of the way there. Will sit at the door to let you know he wants to go out. Only had two accidents and both were while I was gone and he had busted out of his crate, so it might have been anxiety.
Baxter eats his dog food sparingly. I put the bowl down, he eats about a fourth of it, then walks away. He’ll come back to his eating area and sit down, and I’ll put the bowl down again, and he’ll eat a little more. Even though he’s supposed to eat one cup, twice a day, I think he’s only actually eaten ALL of both servings two days that I’ve had him here. Treats, however, are another story. He understands sit, down and stay for a treat. He’s also working on catching the treat which he can manage about 50% of the time.
I truly cannot say enough good things about him. He’s just a positive, energetic, light-hearted dog (not to anthropomorphize too much) who really should NOT be left home alone all day, unless it’s with a younger dog who also needs a playmate or unless he can go to doggy day care several times a week. OR, if he gets lots of long walks and lots of play time in the mornings and evenings and then can sleep during the day he would be okay- but this is not the dog for a couch potato family.
I know I’m only his foster mom, but I would love to see him flourish with the right family. I would love to keep him, but at almost five years old, both of my dogs are not in a place where they can tolerate his energy. He will give so much joy to the right home. I can’t wait to see how well he does in the right environment. He’s just a doll.
We are not a traditional shelter, we are a cage-free facility. All dogs are temperament tested and must get along with other dogs to stay here. Appointments must be made in advance to meet our Secondhand Mutts. Please call 216-664-9660 or email rescue@secondhandmutts.org to set up a time. We are closed on Sundays. We prefer to adopt to local families but will consider long distance adoptions.
