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Old August 6th, 2009, 01:33 PM
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LooneyBoone LooneyBoone is offline
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Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Newfoundland
Posts: 33
Boone came into the shelter around the same time I started working there. He was a stray running around in downtown Toronto with a broken leg at 3 months old in late fall. The shelter staff had named him Perry which I didn't think suited him at all but put with seeing as he wasn't my dog though I often toyed with names for him while I cared for him. As much as I loved the dork I always dreaded mornings as he always had poop smeared everywhere in his kennel and I mean everywhere, while the others would mess their kennels and stay away from it it seemed he played in it. But I loved him anyways. He was terribly nervous and trusted only a handful of people at the shelter, mostly the vet staff as we handled him most everyone else either got snapped at or growled/barked at. The dog walkers usually didn't have much luck in getting him out without a bit of a fight, maybe one or two got along fine with him.



I never wanted a puppy, loved puppies but didn't want to own one, ever. Didn't want the hassle of house training them and plus adult dogs were always harder to place especially the black ones so I had my eyes open for an adult black dog in the shelter everyday. Of course my plans were foiled and I finally accepted defeat and asked if I could foster to adopt as thus far lots of people had come to look at him because he was a puppy and oh so cute and the posters they had all over the building never listed his behavior problems of fear aggression and nervousness. But when they met him and he stood at the back of his kennel growling and barking at them with his hackles up and tail tucked they all bowed away, each time I have to admit I was happy.

So I fostered, adopted and then after some issues left. His fear aggression has dulled down, we've worked hard at it. He had to wear a muzzle for awhile as he would bite people on walks. But we've gotten over the worst I believe. He'll be a year old in a few days and is still nervous and I suspect he always will be but he'll now let people touch him as long as I'm there and I will generally keep his attention on me, sometimes he'll urinate submissively towards strangers but usually he just wants to run so seeing as I'm as far as I can go with him myself we've enlisted the help of a trainer. I have hopes of doing agility with him but if that doesn't happen he's still my little star at the agility course in the dog park.

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