My name is CHEVY!

Chevy is a two year old mixed breed male who arrived on Sept. 15th. Upon arrival he weighed in at 45.5 pounds. When Chevy first arrived he seemed scared but willing to accept snuggles and attention. On the ride home he was stressed. He had a really long rescue day! Once we got home, Chevy was allowed into my small fenced-in area to take in all the scents before introducing him to my dogs. The introductions went very smoothly and within a matter of 20-30 minutes, I let all the dogs loose in the large fenced-in area to stretch their legs and play. This was the medicine that Chevy needed. Gone was the stressed out dog and here was the happy and playful furry boy! He ran with the dogs, played with the toys and came to me for plenty of love and affection in between. Once everyone had enough time to run and play the stressful day out of his system, I let him inside the house to investigate his new, temporary home as well as to meet the last foster fur-sibling - my cat, Charlie. Charlie is a very mellow old boy, and let Chevy give him a good sniff to check him out. He even played with them a little but would get annoyed and hiss when he started coming on too strong. All I needed to do when that happened was say a firm "NO" and Chevy backed right off. Bath-time came once everyone had settled down. Chevy was most definitely not fond of getting a bath and did try to get out of the tub a couple of times but it didn't take him long to figure out resistance was futile. Despite his obvious displeasure with getting his bath, the most he ever did was try to get out of the tub a few times - he never snapped or even growled. I'm not sure if Chevy is actually housebroken or not yet. When it was time to go to bed, I decided to let Chevy stay loose in the house where he opted to spend the majority of the night sleeping on the couch in the living room.

UPDATE: I woke up at 7:30am, at which time, I let Chevy outside to relieve himself. There appeared to have been no accidents overnight. We spent a lot of time outside today to play. He loves to play fetch with toys but doesn't quite get the concept of bringing the toy back to me. He also loves to run, especially alongside one of his foster brothers, who loves to race back and forth in the back yard. He doesn't seem to know any commands so we are working on some of the basics such as "come", "sit", "down" and "paw". He seems to already understand "No", maybe because he's heard it several times while he tried to figure out what behavior is and isn't allowed. One thing I quicky discovered is, Chevy is a love bug and loves to give hugs. (He'll show up, without being called, and wrap his front legs around my waist and bury his face into my lap or chest.) Chevy also made a new, little friend today - a 10-week old pit bull puppy. They hit it off great and Chevy was very respectful of the young puppy's size while still being playful with him. I also noticed today that Chevy is very submissive. He wants desperately, to play with the other dogs, but if they aren't in the mood and growl at him, he immediately backs off. His insecurity is also apparent when he is reprimanded for undesirable behavior. All I need to do is say "No." and more times often then not, he will cower away but will immediately come to me when called. Despite these little insecurities, he seems very happy to have attention paid to him. Whether it's a dog playing with him or a human petting him. This evening, I went out to dinner for about two hours and decided to trust Chevy loose with the others while I was gone. I am pleased to report there were no incidents of destruction to report. Since there weren't any "potty incidents" from the first one the day before, I also decided to leave him loose, once again, when it was time to go to bed. Like the night before, he slept in the living room, but not before coming into the bedroom and giving me a hug and kisses. Who doesn't like getting a hug and a kiss before ending the day?

UPDATE: I tested Chevy for food aggression - he allowed me to touch his body, his face, his mouth and his food while he was eating. At first, he didn't seem phased in the slightest with my dogs eating in his immediate proximity, they eat a couple of feet away from each other. However, as my dogs finished their food, they hovered over Chevy while he was still eating. I noticed he started to show signs of stress. When the other dogs began to loom around and hover, he started growling and even lunged at one of them, he did could have hurt the dog but did not want to. Again, there was never any contact, mind you, it was more a "Get away from my food!" (THIS HAS RESOLVED SEE BELOW) He is on the thinner side and I wonder if this behavior is a result of him being bullied away from his food at the shelter he was forced to stay in. He is by no means an aggressive dog, but I would definitely say he has some insecurity. Regardless of why, this behavior is unacceptable and being worked on while in his foster home.

UPDATE: Chevy seems very content with lounging around the house Every now and then, I let them all outside to run and play for a while. When inside, if he wasn't napping somewhere, then he was nudging me for some affection or trying to see who, of his furry foster siblings, he could get to play wrestlemania. Chevy has had to be corrected for his "food insecurity" again, today, but he is learning quickly and it is taking much less intervention from me to make him snap out of it. I don't get the impression he was given much attention or training at all prior to coming here. All he wants to do is please his human and he obediently complies as soon as he understands what he can and cannot do.

UPDATE: Chevy has settled into the foster home perfectly with everyone else and, as I sit here typing this, he is laying at my feet. I just got up for a moment to go into the bathroom and Chevy immediately got up to see where I was going and waited outside the door until I came back out. When I came through he doorway, he gave me his typical goofy grin and wagged his tail so I leaned down and gave him a big hug and belly rub while kissing his face. As I did so, I wondered to myself if there was anything I had missed, thus far, to include in his description and I noticed him close his eyes and soak in all the affection, feeling, what I can only imagine as being pure contentment. This is all Chevy wants out of life - to be loved and paid attention to by someone he can devote his life and unconditional love to. As his foster mama, I would like to add that he deserves so much more, though, because he has the potential to be a confident boy if someone is willing to continue to give him good reason to feel that way. It would be nice to see Chevy go to a home that already has a dog, who likes playing with other dogs, but not entirely necessary if you are willing to play with him and teach him new things.
UPDATE: It’s truly a pleasure watching Chevy bloom into a confident, young dog. He is much more comfortable in his foster home and no longer sees his foster siblings as a threat during mealtime. All dogs eat their breakfast and supper mere feet away from one another without any incidents. Chevy is also doing well with learning some of his basic commands… He always comes when he’s called and is quickly figuring out that sit means putting his butt to the ground. We played fetch last night while watching TV and Chevy was very respectful of his foster fur-siblings about waiting for his turn to get the ball. I think he knows I’m writing about him right now… He just came over to me and gently put his head in my lap. Another video can be found at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTm4lAeEHhI&feature=youtu.be If you are interested in seeing additional photos, please friend Sheryl's Den on Facebook. If you are interested in adopting, please complete and submit an application. Be sure to list the dog's names that you are interested in on the first question within the application. Please be sure your application is complete. The 1st question asks which dogs you are interested in.



This animal is currently fostered in a private home. Our rescue is 100% foster home based. We do not have a shelter or kennel. They are cared for by a loving family until adopted. Each pup has had their first vet exam, a shot, and de-worming, etc We make sure they have no fleas prior to going into our foster homes. They are fostered out of the shelter at least two weeks or more prior to adopting to monitor health. We take their care seriously!

Please note that the adoption appointments will be scheduled after your application is approved. We will be meeting in Ridgewood, NJ on the morning of September 30th. Once adopted, feel free to change the dog's name. You do not have to keep the name listed in this post.

#####PLEASE BE SURE YOUR APPLICATION IS COMPLETE OR IT WILL NOT BE PROCESSED. PLEASE BE SURE TO LIST THE NAME AND NUMBER OF THE VET'S OFFICE THAT CARED FOR YOUR PRIOR OR CURRENT PET. #####

IF YOU ADOPT a pup and live in the State of New Jersey we do have low cost spaying and neutering at very affordable prices. Kindly inquire upon an approved application. We also have an affordable program for out of state adopters.

We also offer low cost micro-chipping! For a low fee of only 20.00 we will have your dog microchipped. You will be able to register the microchip for a low cost fee of only 10.99 at the time of the adoption appointment. The 10.99 fee is a ONE time registration fee. The microchip is for the lifetime of the dog. You have the ability to update the contact information at NO cost. You will also have a one year membership to Home Again. This is a big savings for you.


***** If you're interested in fostering we could always use the help to save more animals. A crate, food, and medical care are provided. The animals are picked up in West Milford, NJ and brought back here for adoption. The time commitment is two to two and a half weeks. Please email letting us know what town you live in and we will forward information to you. *****

Sheryl's Den has teamed up with Petfirst Health care in an effort to offer pet insurance for your adopted family member. If you wish, you can enroll once you adopt or within 20 days after your adoption. Your coverage will begin at midnight following your activation. The first month is only 5.00. If you choose to continue the pet insurance the cost would be 14.95 a month thereafter. Pet insurance protects you from the expense of vet care. No need to worry about unexpected expenses. Details: Use any veterinarian, pay your vet, send claim form to PetFirst, meet the 50.00 deductible, receive your reimbursement check in as little as two weeks. If you would like further information, you can contact PetFirst at 1-877-291-PETS.