SHELLIE
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WILL BE IN FOSTER CARE BY WEEKEND OF MARCH 8TH; WAS A STRAY APPARENTLY ESCAPED FROM BEING TETHERED BASED ON THE DAMAGE TO HER NECK FUR--STAY TUNED FOR MORE INFO Shellie was picked up from a very bad area and taken to Animal Control in Tucson where she was about to be euthanized. A kennel worker took a liking to her and took it upon herself to get Shellie transferred to the Humane Society where her chances of survival would be far better. She was right. We put our name on her immediately and Shellie is now in our foster care. She is believed to have been chained and strictly an outdoor gal. No socialization or training and pretty much at ground zero in that department. It appears that she had never been for a car ride either. We see potential so Shellie is about to learn a lot of new stuff. She's met several members of her new pack and only one mild correction turns off her defense mechanisms. A complete blood panel was done and surprisingly, Shellie was negative for tick and Valley Fever, all values within normal range. Since she had been in a shelter environment for over a week, we have her on a prophylactic course of antibiotics, she's been wormed and will be again this week. The shelter placed her age at about one year, our Tucson staff thinks closer to sixteen months; she's somewhere between one and two years old and ripe for learnin. Shellie is spayed, vaccinated, learning house and leash manners; a real diamond in the ruff ready and willing to be polished! UPDATE 3/14: As expected, Shellie is sadly lacking in social skills; bound to happen when one never had the opportunity to learn any! She's very rough with her canine play; it's not aggression, she simply doesn't know any better. Even the muscular Am Staff that followed her admiringly just about everywhere she went now takes to the hills when Shellie drops down into play posture. After play she will roll over on her back submissively in effort to engage a new sparring partner and can't quite understand why no one in the pack will oblige. Shellie will be busy learning the rules of engagement before she's ready to be shown. She's a good student; just needs time so we're giving her just that. UPDATE 4/24: Shellie, whom we often call Annie or Fanny since it's what she responds to best, has been making progress and making up for lost time with toys. Seems they're all new to her so she delights in dunking each one in her wading pool, shakes out the water, then gets another to dunk. She thinks this is great fun so there's not a dry toy around! The scars around her muzzle & lips, undoubtedly from having her snout wired closed, have healed and hair is growing over the fine lines. She will always have a scar on her nose from where she would try to rub and pull the wires off. This is inhumane to begin with but keeping an outside dog in the desert from panting will outright cause a horrific death. You would think with the life she's had that she wouldn't have much use for people, but Shellie never met a stranger...always happy to greet a new friend. She's a loving and busy gal.
Shellie is a whirling dervish, constantly in motion who will need a patient and dedicated owner willing to train. She would even settle for a nice foster home where she could learn to be loose indoors full time.
UPDATE 9/11: Sam & Shellie have joined at the hip; they are almost always seen together and play with one another all day. Sam is a mushpot; very kissy face. Shellie is more independent..will check in for a hug then move on. They balance one another nicely. Since Sam isn't fond of being alone, having his main squeeze Shellie around when his humans are not will likely help in that regard. The challenge, however, is that training wise they're both a blank slate, so getting that done will take more work and commitment as well as time. If we can find the right humans, their foster Mom thinks they would make a wonderful pair! Or, if someone is willing to foster them together (would need to be an otherwise dogless home) in Phoenix, we would have more opportunities to work with and show both of them. Anyone out there ready and willing to take on two high energy fun filled youngsters? Adoption fee $265.00.
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UPDATE JULY 31:
Finally in healthy summer coat, Shellie maturing into a fine lady. She's the perfect prospect for someone able to train a young dog
starting with the basics. Shellie is dog and people friendly and would really blossom with a person or family of her very own.
We cannot speak to kids as she has not had any exposure to them, so children over 12 years are recommended. No cats or little dogs,
but she would love to frolic with a large breed male. It's time for Shellie to move on...she's looking for a hiking buddy for this winter!