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Posted over 9 years ago
| Updated over 9 years ago
I found a new home! Plenty of my friends are looking for one too. Check out other pets at this shelter, or start a new search.
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My basic info
Breed
Labrador Retriever
Color
Black - with Gray or Silver
Age
Senior
Size
Large 61-100 lbs (28-45 kg) (when grown)
Weight
–
Sex
Male
Pet ID
–
My details
Good with dogs
Good with cats
Needs experienced adopter
Shots current
Spayed / Neutered
Housetrained
My story
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Here's what the humans have to say about me:
Possibly the greatest challenge when rescuing any animal is not knowing what their life was like before you met. Obviously, we make sure that they only know love, warmth, and comfort afterwards but in cases like Bear’s, you’d give anything to know what a normal day in their previous life looked like.
Based on a stack of messy paperwork, here’s what we know about Bear: For the first six years of his life, he lived with his ‘family’. He was familiar with children, other animals, and was only afraid of a popping balloon. For six years, he was a part of their family. That is, until Christmas Eve 2013, when they decided that the best thing for Bear was to drop him of at the front desk of a Spokane shelter because they “didn’t have room”.
Bear sat in that shelter for Christmas, New Years, and then another three months before he was adopted out to a man in Spokane. Unfortunately, Bear exhibited food-based resource guarding and was returned to the shelter. At this point, shelter policy left Bear sequestered to the back room, out of public view, for another eight months. He went on occasional walks with volunteers and his walk log is full of praise for his manners, great personality, and enthusiasm. Then, November came and Bear was given a euthanize date. He had been surrendered almost a year prior and since nobody knew he was there, he would never be adopted. The volunteer dog walkers who had built a bond with Bear, sent out cries for help and on November 21, Bear was welcomed into OSCAR.
The first few weeks were difficult for Bear. He was tense, nervous, and acting out. But, as weeks went by, Bear started making strides with his foster family. He started showing interest in toys, leaned in for loves, and started showing off a goofy personality.
Since Bear has broken out of his shell, we have learned a lot of admirable traits about him. At approximately 7-years-old, Bear weighs about 75 pounds and checks out beautifully at the vet. His knees crackle and pop a little bit in cold weather but that and his silver chin are the only tells of his senior age. His puppy eyes and eager tail wag fool people into thinking he’s a baby all the time! Bear runs like a gazelle, enjoys the water, and is fanatic for ducks. He can sniff them out before anyone else knows they’re around. One of his absolute favorite things to do is to forage through unbeaten paths, putting his long nose to work in every bush, hole, and crevice he can find.
Bear is potty trained and hangs out loose in the house without issue when his foster parents aren’t home. He is both cat and dog friendly, although he can be a bit assertive, so a laid back sibling would be best for him. Bear loves walks but requires patience because his leash skills aren’t perfected yet. He does well on solo walks that he’s taken before but is easily distracted when exploring a new trail (blame it on his nose). His favorite toys are those that he can thrash side to side or play tug-o-war with. He doesn’t particularly care about balls. He really thinks that the end cushion on the couch should remain open for his leisure but with the help of some basic training, knows that it’s ok to get off when asked. He sleeps on his own dog bed at night but foster mom has been known to let him cuddle with her feet from time to time before bedtime.
Because of Bear’s rough start in the rescue. he is currently taking part in a four-week behavior modification program to make sure that he has the tools to be successful in a forever home. He and his foster parents are working with an Associate Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist and Certified Professional Dog Trainer to overcome resource guarding, location guarding, and properly greeting a new person. The beautiful thing about Bear’s training program is that the behaviorist comes to Bear’s foster home to work with them. So, he is learning in the comfort of a home setting with real-life tests and distractions and not in an unfamiliar boarding facility. Luckily, Bear is both food motivated and extremely sharp. Training is both easy and enjoyable with a dog like Bear.
We are looking for a special kind of family to show Bear the love he deserves. Someone who is experienced with dogs and knows the incomparable joy found in those breakthrough moments with a rescue. His requirements are minimal and simple: patience, reward based/ positive reinforcement training, and love. We will work with Bear’s adopters to transition all of his training over to them, making communication and expectations easy. In return, Bear will bring his loyalty, alertness, and goofball tendencies. He will make a great companion to anyone who gives him the chance. Bear is neutered, up to date on vaccines, and chipped. Due to his age, Bear will not have an adoption fee. If you are interested in learning more about Bear, please fill out an application at oscarsavesdogs.org.
Bear is being fostered in Ellensburg, WA
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