-
- My first day after being surrendered.
-
- With my foster brothers!
Quick Facts:
- Breed: Pitbull mix
- Gender: Male, neutered
- Age: 2 years old
- Size: 55 pounds
- Good with…
- Dogs? Yes!
- Cats? I’m curious!
- Kids? 12+
Instagram? Follow me! My insta account is @teddybullpitbull
History
I had a very, very rough start to my life. For the first two years of my life, I was imprisoned in a crate on my owner’s back porch. I was starved (literally, check out the picture) and made to lay in my own filth. It was horrible. All of this changed on April 19, when my first owner was charged with criminal animal abuse.
I was surrendered and brought to a local city shelter, where I began the healing process. At first, I was a skeleton puppy, with long yellow claws, open sores, and stained skin. I was a very sad and confused dog and was afraid to go outside. There were some nice shelter workers who were kind to me, and I had an attorney advocate and a law student who would come visit me every day, which was really nice! The shelter workers said that most dogs don’t gain weight when they get to a shelter, but I thought that living in the shelter was 100 times better than living in a crate, so I wasn’t depressed about it at all!
Slowly, I got more confident and more sure of myself. I’ve always been affectionate and eager to please, but living in a crate and then a kennel is stressful. I spent nearly three months at the local city shelter, waiting for my court case to be resolved. On average, I got out of my kennel for only 30-45 minutes each day. Once I started getting fed regularly for the first time in my life, I got possessive of my food (as anyone would!) and wouldn’t let anyone near me when I ate it all up as fast as I could. This is very normal for emaciated dogs who were starved over a long period of time, but something that I have made great strides with!
My volunteer attorney advocate and the law student who worked with her arranged a Go Fund Me campaign so I could go to training to overcome my food aggression, to teach me leash skills and basic commands, and to teach me to view my crate as a safe, calming place and not an instrument of torture. I am a doggie graduate and successfully completed my training! I have learned so much, and am so proud! I love this new way that I feel and I love knowing how to do things that other dogs know how to do! I feel like I can be a sweet part of the normal community now and I am grateful beyond words.
Recently I moved into a wonderful foster home with two doggy brothers, and they are helping me learn the ropes! I’m ready and waiting to leave my sad past behind me and move forward with a forever family who want to give me a stable, loving home!!!
Personality
I’ve been told I have the biggest, most loving heart and I truly want to be friends with all creatures I meet. I realize how lucky I am to have a second chance and so I’m always watching everything intently and trying to learn quickly!
If I describe myself, I’d say I’m a goofball! My favorite things are to romp and play and try and make friends with everyone around me. I love to roll over and get belly rubs. I also love to sit for treats. I’m good at waiting my turn to get a treat (or two)– I’m always very gentle and never grabby. One of my skills is giving joyful, slobbery kisses, and I especially love scritches and scratches and kisses on the super soft spot at the top of my head. I’ve been called a lug and a doofus and a handsome dude.
I’m proud to say I’m not a beggar. I’m perfectly content to lie on the other side of the room and watch my foster mom eat a roast beef sandwich. I don’t want food that isn’t mine (unlike my doggy foster brothers, who always think there’s a chance). But I will focus for food treats, especially Wegmans organic turkey meatballs!
It doesn’t take me long to get acclimated to routines; I love having stable consistency. For the first couple years of life, I didn’t get to have any experiences at all. Now I get to go for lots of walks and I do pretty well on a leash– after my initial bursts of energy wear off!! So many things are new to me, but I catch on very quickly. (I only tried to chase squirrels twice and now I just watch them without lunging. I guess I’m not gonna catch ‘em anyway.) Most of all I love the freedom of wandering around the neighborhood on leash with you by my side, meeting people and seeing things! There is so much to see in the world! Wow!!
While I don’t love my crate (no big surprise there, given my history), it is a safe space for me to be able to settle down. In my foster home, I sleep in my crate at night and stay in my crate when my foster mom is at school. I’m very patient and I wait to be let out without making noise or whining, but I don’t like to go into the crate without being bribed with a treat. I haven’t had a single accident in my foster home and I’m proud of myself!
I eat my food in my crate. About half of my food goes in a slow-feeder dish (which I am annoyed by) and the other half my foster mom hand feeds me through the crate. I have made a ton of progress with not being so terrified that someone will take my food away when I’m eating, but I will need continued positive training with my food (like the hand feeding…it helps a lot!) to keep this progress continuing! . I’ve been known to sprawl out in my crate and sleep with all my limbs askew (apparently this is adorable), and to sit in my crate in the morning with the blanket over my head (apparently this is hilarious!), because on Mondays I know we all need just a few more minutes in bed!
I never had any toys before I arrived at the animal shelter. When I was given toys, I used one of them as a way to soothe myself, and I became obsessive and possessive of it. My foster mom says that I was like Gollum with the ring, whatever that means. I’ve learned to trade toys for treats, but in my foster home my foster mom says she prefers not to introduce toys, because my doggy brothers and I might get possessive over them and she wants to make sure that my home is peaceful and that we have no reason to get upset with one another. So I still don’t have much experience with toys or bones. Honestly though, I’m super happy to be in a house with loving people I don’t really think that I’m missing out on anything!!
I might try to climb up into your lap, but I haven’t jumped on the couch or chewed any furniture. Most of all I am grateful for my new life and I really can’t wait for the chance to have my very own forever home.
Cohabitation
My goal in life is to be exceptionally friendly. I want to love and be loved. I’ve been around children and I’m not afraid of them. However, I am enthusiastic so I may accidentally overpower them, which is one reason that we think that kids over 12 would be the best match for me. Also, because I can get possessive over toys, and younger kids have lots of toys and we don’t want to risk that!
Favorite Activities
- Going for walks and jogs and runs!! Love that!!
- Getting your affection!!! I love love love that!!
- Climbing up into your lap! Pretending that I am a lap dog!
- Learning new things! Having people be nice to me! Getting treats!
Medical
I currently don’t have any known medical issues. I’m finally at a healthy weight (not too skinny anymore!) and all of my scabs have healed. Apparently I could use a dental cleaning in the near future.
Summary
Everyone tells me that I am a truly and deeply special dog. To have endured the abuse that I did, and to come through it with a heart so inclined toward joy and affection and happiness, is a miracle. I do need a home that won’t baby me and will provide me with the routine, stability, and consistency that I need to thrive. I also need someone with some experience with positive training (or who is excited to learn!), so that all of my progress can continue!!
If you are interested in adopting me, please fill out an online adoption application and live close to Ithaca , Syracuse, Binghamton, Rochester, or Elmira. We do home visits on every applicant, and can’t do home visits where we don’t have local volunteers.
