My name is Francis!

Miniature Poodle | 10 years old | Male | 5 lbs

Temperament: Joyful! Cuddly! Curious!
Activity level: Medium energy. Goes for 3-5 short-medium walks per day with brief playtime occasionally.
Vetting: Vaccinated (rabies, DHPP, bordetella), neutered, microchipped, dewormed, full blood work up done - came back normal, on flea/tick/heartworm prevention. Dental - all teeth removed. There is a Fistula still present even after several corrective surgeries (oronasal) caused by diseased canines in his mouth which caused a hole between his mouth and his nose. The hole was repaired using a flap of tissue that is still in the process of healing but since his last corrective surgery it is healing well. Francis must eat soft food. Francis LOVES kibble soaked in water over wet canned food. However, he will eat both.
Housebroken: Mostly, though he does display marking behaviour so he wears a belly band in his foster home.
Good with Dogs: Yes! Very interested in other dogs and generally behaves but can try to hump other dogs.
Good with Cats: Yes!
Good with Children: Not tested. Francis is incredibly gentle but vulnerable due to his age and size. We don’t see an issue with him around children, however, the children must be gentle and respectful to him. Due to his tiny body, we will only adopt to individuals with older children/teens.
Prey drive: None observed.
Response to the outdoors: Has no problem with busy streets and loves to be outside!
Crate Trained: Nope.
Resource guarding: None observed.
Response to commands: Working on it.
Are they vocal: Only when he is left alone.
Leash Etiquette: Walks very well on leash!
Transportation: Great in both the car and on public transit! Does very well sitting in someone’s lap while travelling.
*Francis’ bio may change as we get to know him better.
*Comes with 6 weeks of pet insurance totalling $500 and 2 free online taped training classes.
*Please be sure to check your spam/junk folder for a response from our team.
*As we are an entirely volunteer-run organization, we are only able to reach out to applicants that will be moving forward.

Meet Francis! This adorable tiny pup is a true little bundle of joy and will surely win you over with his sweet personality!

Francis is a social little pup and loves to be with his people. He is a fantastic work buddy and currently goes to work every day with his foster. He does very well sitting on their lap during their daily TTC rides together. Francis is a-okay with city living and has no problem with the busy streets of Toronto. He really loves his time outside! Francis enjoys going for multiple short-medium walks throughout the day, along with some brief occasional playtime when he has some extra energy to burn off. However, Francis is definitely more of a fair weather walker. He can be very reluctant to leave the house when it is raining out and doesn’t love the snow.

Francis is very interested in other dogs and appears to generally behave himself around them. However, since he was only recently neutered, he has been known to try and hump other dogs.

His foster parents describe him as generally well-behaved, however, Francis would likely benefit from learning some basic obedience cues as he currently doesn’t know any. He is mostly housebroken and doesn’t poop in the house. However, as Francis was an intact male for most of his life so far, he still displays some marking behaviour so his fosters currently have him wear a belly band inside the house to manage this. Since he has only been neutered for a couple of months so far, this behaviour may or may not change with time.

Francis adores his people and loves to be pet. He is always looking for a way to be involved with his family and follows his foster parents everywhere. If you take your hand away while petting him, even for a brief moment, he will chase your hand and try to nudge it back onto his head. This silly boy has even almost chased his foster’s hand right off the sofa before for those precious head scratches!

This lovely pup enjoys lots of attention and is very curious. So his adopters should be prepared to supervise him to keep him happy and prevent him from getting into things he shouldn’t. Francis would likely do best as the only pet in his forever home where he can receive all the attention, even though he is good with other animals. Also, a home without young children would be best due to his more vulnerable size and age.

Francis has shown separation anxiety in his foster home and we highly recommend that Francis’ adopters work with a positive reinforcement-based trainer to help work on his separation anxiety as well as starting everyone off on the right foot as he settles into his forever home. This sweet boy has made significant improvement since arriving at his foster home though. His fosters are able to leave him for short stretches of time but he would not do well being left alone for a work day or long stretches of time as part of his regular routine. Since Francis can get quite distressed when left alone, we are looking for a home with someone who works from home or who is able to take him to work with them regularly. As he can be vocal when separated from his people, those who live in condos, apartments or other dwellings where noise may be an issue should not apply.

This incredibly sweet tiny boy is looking for someone to love him just as much as he will love them. This boy truly adores his people! If you think this might be you, please fill out a Canine Adoption Application on our website: covetedcanines.org/application