Harlow

ADOPTED! October 10, 2015

We are going The Extra Mile for Harlow.

July Update: Harlow has had her “big girl” surgery and has fully recovered. She has moved into a foster home and continues to improve on obedience and is house trained and crate trained. Please read the most recent “foster home report” for a complete update.

April Update: Harlow has had her first of two heartworm treatments and she has moved into a committed foster home for her recovery. We are very grateful to have a wonderful home for Harlow to relax in and get the full attention she needs throughout her heartworm and future surgeries.

Harlow is an American Staffordshire Terrier. She was picked up on the eastside of Cleveland with a male dog – both running stray. Harlow has had a rough life and our assumption is she has been a breeding machine for someone to earn a few bucks on her puppies. She is overbred and recently has had a litter. Her boobies practically touch the ground when she walks. Her back end is enlarged from activity but her spirit is genuine and kind. She has mange on her legs. She is heartworm positive. Harlow the first dog in 2015 we will go The Extra Mile for. Welcome to your new life. We anticipate Harlow’s medical expenses will cost us up to $1500. Donations are gladly accepted in her name through The Extra Mile fund.

Harlow quickly became a volunteer favorite at Cleveland Animal Control and word got out on their Facebook page to try and find a rescue to take her in. An older dog with medical problems is not always the first choice for any rescue or adopter. Harlow was special and we saw that the moment we laid eyes on her and wanted to help her live out her life in peace.

Harlow arrived and had her first bath while in our care. The volunteers who bathed her gave her a one hour spa treatment she enjoyed very much. She was very dirty and smelled terrible. Harlow will be visiting Dr. Liz at Gateway Animal Clinic for a full assessment and health evaluation so we can make a plan for her. We are seeking a quiet foster home for her to stay in and then we will start her heartworm treatment in March. She will most likely need two rounds of treatment and then a few months following she can be spayed. She has a little growth on her rear leg that we will also have removed. Harlow is up to date on shots.

Harlow has a great personality. She has been decompressing in our quarantine area and our hopes are to move her to a foster home in the next week after her veterinary consultation. She has met only a few dog so it’s hard to tell where her socialization skills are at this early stage. We will work with her foster parent to get her socialized properly when the time comes. In the meantime her health care is what is most important to us and our focus right now.

Foster Home Report:

July 1, 2015
Harlow came into my home right after her surgery. Her energy levels have improved over the last 3 weeks. She is a very happy dog and absolutely loves people. She is currently the only dog and would do best in a single dog household. She is potty-trained and crate-trained. She spends most of her time either in her crate or on her bed dog in the living room. She truly just wants to be with me and follows me around the house and will just plop down on the floor wherever I am.  She has had only had 1 accident since being with me, otherwise she is able to stay at home without a let-out while I am at work. She typically stays in her crate while I am gone and occupies herself with a peanut-butter filled Kong, elk antlers or rope toys. I leave the TV on for her when I first leave and it shuts off about 3 hours into her day. She walks well on her freedom harness and is very patient letting me put it on and take it off. She does bark at other dogs if they are behind a fence or if they start barking at her. If we are walking and she sees another dog coming, she will stop and stare at them. I typically will pull her over to the side and get her to focus her attention on me. As long as the other dog shows no interest and does not bark, she and I can move on with our walk after they pass us. She absolutely loves people on our walks and pretty much just goes right up to everyone. She is always smiling on our walks and is honestly a sweetheart.

She is very patient with me when we get back home. She lets me wipe her paws off and waits for me to take her harness off and for me to go first up the stairs. She takes her daily medication very nicely in either some cheese or peanut butter. She is very gentle when taking It, and when taking her treats. She knows sit and stay. We are working on down. Overall, Harlow is a sweet girl.

April 14, 2015
Harlow has been with me for 2 weeks. She is healing very nicely and has much more energy than she did when she arrived with me. She is very sweet and loving and I have never seen her show aggression towards other animals or people. She has been exposed to deer (often) and a stray cat in my back yard. They stare at each other for a while, then it  is Harlow that loses interest after a minute. She has never barked at other animals nor tries to go after them, yet she is very curious and interested in them when she sees them. She gets excited when around people and wants to lick them and play with them. During the day, when she gets excited and has energy, she will bark at me and poke my leg with her nose letting me know that she wants to play or just wants some attention. She is still sleeping quite a bit and enjoys following me around the house. She especially seems to be fascinated with my treadmill and is either standing or laying next to the treadmill when I use it in the morning.  She is doing well with basic commands and is pretty good with “stay” command. She will a”stay” and allow me to wipe the mud off her paws upon entering the house, after we have gone out in the muddy yard. She is very patient with me on this. She loves getting her baths. She does run out of energy after a little playing or a walk, however her strength has greatly improved since receiving the Heartworm treatment.

Harlow still has accidents in the house, however I am wondering if this can be related to the medications that she is taking. She is very good about taking her medications with a little peanut butter. She loves the peanut butter.

April 6, 2015
Harlow is doing great. She was in a lot of pain and extremely tired for a couple of days after the procedure. She was whining in pain often throughout the night for a couple of days. Yesterday she started to feel better and is much better today. She is getting some energy back and only seems to be in a little pain once in a great while. She really seems to be so much better today. Yesterday I gave her a second bath and she did wonderful.  She had 4 accidents the first several days and the day she returned from her surgery, however, since then she has not had an accident. We have been taking little walks around the back yard and now that she is feeling better she is enjoying sniffing around and walking a little faster. She sees many animals in my back yard, such as deer, a stray cat, and ground hogs. They just look at each other, both with interest from a distance, but none of them ever run away and Harlow does not advance toward them or bark. It appears to be a very calm connection as they stare at one another.  It’s really quite fascinating. She is very gentle and is listening to my commands very well now.  The brief training I received was very helpful. She likes to follow me everywhere and is now feeling comfortable going off into another room to sleep by herself when she wants to. She appears to be healing nicely. I think it will help when she is done with her meds. She does not attempt to get into my garbage or any items I have sitting out for my work. She is a very good girl. I am so glad to see her feeling better.

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.

Dog Adoption Fee $200