Ace

While we were at the Champaign County Humane Society with Cindypup (see my other post about her visit to PupsIsPups), Michelle, the shelter manager, said, “I’ve got a dog I want you to look at to see if you will take him home for a while.” Michelle told us he was a recent arrival and was very scared. He didn’t do well on the SAFER test, but she thought he might just be stressed out by the environment of the Shelter. Harriett grabbed a handful of treats and we headed back to the holding area to meet Ace.

We found Ace sitting in the back of his run shaking. He was scared out of his wits by the barking of the other dogs. I went into the run to see him, and although he ate the treats I tossed at him he wouldn’t come near me. He stayed glued to the corner, shaking uncontrollably. I stayed with Ace and Harriett went off to see if we could take Ace out of his run and move to one of the “Get Acquainted” rooms—quiet rooms where potential adopters can visit with dogs and cats they are interested in adopting.

Harriett returned with a leash and off we went to a Get Acquainted room. There was an improvement in Ace’s behavior in the more quiet environment, and soon he was approaching me cautiously, though he was still unwilling to get too close. I left him to tour the shelter with Cindypup, and while I was gone Michelle gave him a bowl of canned dog food. He wolfed it down, but more importantly, he was instantly her best buddy. Having found the keys to his heart, we agreed to take him as a foster dog.

Ace is an 11 month old Yellow Labrador Retriever. Still a puppy. Michelle read us the list of reasons his relinquisher gave when dropping him off at the Shelter: hyper, gets in the garbage, doesn’t behave, etc…basically a list of common traits of every puppy we have ever had. They admitted he has had no training and they never took him to the vet. What the heck did they expect? He’s so underweight that I think they also forgot to feed him. He’s about a 3 or 3.5 on the Purina Canine Body Condition Chart. (A score of 5 or 6 is considered normal.)

We brought him home and put him in a crate to give him time to relax. After Cindypup left, our friend Tammie asked if she could meet him. He went up to her with no problem. He met the Base Pack, and other than being a bit overwhelmed, he did great. He and Sidney have already had a major romp in the house. We’ve discovered he’s crate trained, he likes tennis balls, you can take stuff away from him, and he wants to be with people, even if he is a little cautious. We think his problem is just a lack of attention and socialization.

So Ace will be with us for a bit to chill out and get some life experiences. He’s a very handsome dog. Ace will be ideal for someone who wants an active dog to run with or to play dog sports. We’ll post updates over the next few days.