My name is Dexter!

Hello, my name is Dexter and I’d like to tell you a little bit about me. I was found at the dog pound and when my owner didn’t come to claim me a wonderful rescue called Pound Dog Rescue decided to help me find a forever home. I’m a happy go lucky 5 year old Shih Tzu boy who loves going for walks. I’m so excited to get outside that sometimes my foster mom has a hard time keeping up with me and that’s just going down the apartment building hallway. I pull on the leash when we go for walks but it’s just because I can’t wait to smell all the smells and let other dogs know I’m here. My foster mom and dad are working on that with me and I’m trying to be a good student. I’m very smart so I like learning new things.

When I meet the people in my neighbourhood they tell me how cute I am and how great my colouring is. I’m so flattered that they notice the brown along my back toward my tail and not just the black and white of my fur. I like people to notice me and if they bend down to pat me I wag my tail and stand up on my hind legs to show them how cute I am. It works every time. However, there are times when people walk right past and ignore me and I just keep walking too. I enjoy meeting new dogs. I prefer the ones who have self-confidence as we do the “leash tango”. The timid ones scare me and I tend to react negatively toward them, but all in all I enjoy big dogs, small dogs, medium dogs…I don’t care what size or shape they are. I can’t wait until I’m allowed to be off leash and actually play and run with other dogs. I love chasing the ball when my foster dad throws it around the apartment. I love it even more when he chases me and tries to get the ball.

When I want to go outside I sit by the door waiting for someone to notice me. If I have to go outside I scratch at the door. That gets my foster mom’s attention immediately and I wait patiently while she grabs a bag and puts on my leash and away we go. I don’t ever mess in the house as I’m not that kind of boy. At bedtime I walk into my crate, lie down and dream about my forever home.

In the morning after our pee break we have breakfast. I like to follow my foster mom around the apartment. I just like to know where she is all the time. She laughs at me when I lay between her feet while she’s on the potty. When we sit on the couch and watch tv she or dad will rub my belly. I looove belly rubs. I also enjoy having my ears rubbed and that space between my eye brows. I get all tingly just thinking about it.

I really like my foster parents and I want to protect them so sometimes I let them know that I hear something unusual. I give a bark or two and then my parents tell me it’s ok and I calm back down. I’m not a yapper like some dogs; I’m an alertist but not a continual alertist.

Sometimes when my mom talks to me I look at her quizzically and wonder what she’s saying. I mean can’t she speak dog? Doesn’t everyone speak dog? I do understand her when she calls me by name or when she’s calling me for dinner or a treat. I have selective English skills. When I do take a treat I’m so gentle so I don’t hurt the hand that feeds me. If my foster mom has to take my food dish away I’m ok with that. I don’t growl or try to bite.



I tolerate little kids. As long as they’re not rough and poke at me I can get along with them. I think I prefer adults or at least older kids but then again I’ve not had a lot of exposure to little kids so who knows? Maybe I would love to play ball with them. I’m not ruling it out. My rescue is looking for a forever home for me where the kids are older than 10years of age, if there are kids at all. I don’t want to roughhouse with kids and would need the kids to understand they need to be gentle with me and kind.

When I went to the vet I had all kinds of tests done and I’m proud to say I’m disease and parasite free. I even took the responsibility of asking the vet to neuter me so I wouldn’t contribute to others finding themselves in the dog pound. What you do need to know about me though is I have a back leg that was broken a while ago and my previous owner didn’t take me to the vet to get it fixed so it healed incorrectly, but that doesn’t slow me down one bit! I tend to hold it up sometimes when I’m walking but it doesn’t stop me from enjoying my walk. My rescue had many vets look me over and I had xrays done and I even had orthopedic specialists consult on my case. It was determined that more harm than good would be done by going in and trying to fix my leg…boy was I glad to hear that! Although I have a bit of a limp in my leg it doesn’t bother me at all, and like I said, it doesn’t slow me down! I can jump up onto the couch still and I can go for long walks too. I may have some arthritis in this leg when I get older so my new family needs to be aware of this, but really, who doesn’t get some aches and pains as they get older?

You know what I’d really like - a family who is as devoted to me as I will be to them. I need to belong in a home where I can be confident in that fact that this home is my forever home and I will never be lost or abandoned again. So what do you say? Wouldn’t you love to have a little cutie pie like me in your life?

All Pound Dog Rescue dogs are spayed/neutered, vaccinated, heartworm tested, de-wormed (if required), and micro-chipped prior to adoption. The adoption donation of $400 is applied to assist in the costs of veterinary care and the overall care of the dog. For more information and adoption applications please consult our website at www.pounddog.ca.