When we rescued Jay it became clear that this handsome boy hadn't had a good life or anyone that loved and cared for him. He was so sweet that Animal Control kept pulling him off the kill list day after day and week after week. He sat at Animal Control for three long weeks before RESCUE was able to take him in.
When we took Jay out of the kennel and into a empty 10x10 room so we could spend quiet some time with him, he didn't know what to do with himself. In the kennel he seemed more content and confident of his fate, inside with people who wanted to interact with him was a foreign concept. :( So we gave Jay some time to relax by himself.
When we came back, this time we brought a ball. If you watch Jay's video you can see him playing with the ball. It appeared to us that this was the first time that Jay had ever encountered this strange but fun object. He didn't understand the concept of bouncing or rolling. He'd pounce on the ball and it would roll underneath him and he'd get this look on his face like "what? where did it go?" Then he'd find it and his joyful discovery would start another round of play with this glorious new thing called a ball!
With the help of this ball, we were able to get to know Jay. He was sweet and affectionate. He kept an eye on us as if we were going to hit him and he was preparing for the blow. But it never came. Soon we could see Jay start to relax and enjoy our companionship. As we began looking him over, we noticed several bit wounds to his neck and head. :( Unfortunately I don't know if he received those on the street or from the kennel that he was in as he had several other larger dogs in his kennel wit him. Thankfully Jay didn't appear to be suffering any pain from this injuries and they appeared to be healing. We also noticed that Jay has a really soft coat that he let us touch all over and actually was enjoying our rubbing!
So we took Jay out of Animal Control and into the RESCUE family. We had his wounds cleaned out and had him neutered. Shortly thereafter we noticed an unusual behavior from Jay. Jay had a fear of cars. When he heard or saw a car he would bark and bark at them. He was terrified of cars. So with the help of our loving, patience and caring volunteers we began working with Jay on his fear of cars. We used a lot of positive reinforcement and we could soon seen an improvement in this behavior. Jay now knows how to walk nicely on the leash, sit and when he sees or hears cars, he know looks to us for reinforcement that everything is ok. He has made tremendous strides and we couldn't be prouder of this handsome boy! He is such a good learner and it's such a shame that no one ever took the time with him before.
Now Jay is looking for a home to call his own. A family that will love and care for him and continue the work that RESCUE has already done with him. A family that will take him on walks and hikes. A home where he can have his own bed to rest his head. A home that never runs out of balls to play with and someone to throw them. Jay is a wonderful canine companion and has so much to offer. Maybe you're the family Jay's been looking for all his life.
Jay weighed 44.3 lbs when we rescued him.
Watch a video of Jay!
