Size
(when grown) Large 61-100 lbs (28-45 kg)
Details
Good with kids,
Good with dogs,
Good with cats,
Story
** $50 in pledges for the rescue that pulls! **
Chop ACCT-A-217887 is currently considered urgent and at risk of euthanasia due to length of stay and lack of space for incoming dogs. Chop must have confirmed placement with a RESCUE PARTNER or EXPERIENCED ADOPTER by SUNDAY, MAY 25TH at 10AM. Should Chop's medical or behavioral status change, his urgency and timeline for placement may also change.
Chop came to the shelter as an owner surrender on May 5th due to a combination of personal issues that prevented them from keeping him. In the home, he was noted to be friendly with kids and cats, but did not react well to strangers or other dogs. In the shelter, Chop has presented as a complex and cautious dog, especially around new people. During intake, he lunged at staff members, and his behavior has required a go-slow approach with introductions. That said, Chop has shown a capacity to warm up with time. Volunteers and staff who have earned his trust describe a very different dog—one who offers kisses, seeks out affection, and even gets the zoomies during walks.
Chop is social and curious in playgroup, but got a bit overwhelmed. He also showed appropriate corrections when another dog attempted to mount him. Please bring any resident dogs along for a meet. His reactions to individual people vary, but his progress with volunteers shows his potential in a committed, experienced home. Chop will need a confident handler who can provide structure, patience, and ongoing behavior support. Due to his length of stay, Chop is urgently seeking placement with a rescue partner or experienced adopter with no children in the home.
VIDEOS:
**NEW VIDEOS 5/24**
Chop plays with volunteers!: https://youtu.be/WeesC1JPMYw?si=jTYpwmM115WOo3qa
Friendly boy Chop: https://youtube.com/shorts/16W1xwy0ywE?si=Xsieq28uagavWIm0
Chop on a run: https://youtube.com/shorts/tB_sYW3RzLQ?si=zJqXBYSVY1SQ9KOz
Playgroup 5/17: Santiago, Goem, Chop: https://youtu.be/DjRJcE4NtbE
Playgroup 5/17: Santiago, Chop, Lovey: https://youtu.be/6taIICV7sBo
Playgroup 5/17: Santiago, Chop, Lovey (2) [Santiago & Lovey spat]: https://youtu.be/A1FeYSGBrMo
Playgroup 5/17: Chop doesn't know what do with Buster H ¯\(ツ)/¯: https://youtu.be/uUzHfd3Natk
Chop gets pets: https://youtube.com/shorts/fsmIGZuFZ1M?si=mh5lONxytgV24_pD
Chop leans in for pets: https://youtube.com/shorts/-g36YwoiHto?si=w1EIi1zrE3jdhyG8
Chop gets pets 2: https://youtube.com/shorts/mT7VMtBeNpM?si=fTLpxPb7t_Hv2XNA
BEHAVIOR:
Per staff 5/18: While reviewing the videos of Santiago, Chop, and Lovey: Lovey was the smallest in the yard, but appeared to be assertive/dominant. She was running alongside Chop, but he wasn't interested in play. Santiago then approached Chop and went to mount him, which Chop corrected. Lovey got up on the platform and sniffed Chop's face and followed him around for a bit. They were mainly keeping their distance from her. Her tail was up the entire time, but alternated between being stiff and wagging.
Per staff 5/17, playgroup: Sociable, curious, but overwhelmed by an incident between other dogs and began exit searching.
Per volunteer 5/16: Nice runner, very sweet.
Per staff 5/15: Good until coming back, got nippy and needed to get help.
Per staff 5/12: Staff had Chop out yesterday. He stated Chop was well behaved with him but he kept the leash close to him as a precaution. Staff stated Chop did see other dogs while he was outside but he did not fixate on them. He also stated that another employee came outside with him & Chop did not pay her too much attention at all. No bad behaviors exhibited yesterday
Per volunteer 5/12: Did well on a walk, didn't observe any reactivity. Passed a pair of vocal small dogs at a distance and Chop observed them with curiosity but continued walking without issues. Passed a leafblower and had the same reaction. Seems like he may be acclimating.
Per volunteer 5/10:
I observed Chop being brought out to playgroup. He seemed interested in the other dogs when he walked by them. He didn’t solicit any attention from the people around playgroup but he didn’t have any spooky behaviors either. When a member of the behavior team whom he had met before took some steps toward him, he didn’t like it and started hard barking. Through various interactions with other people through a fence or in person, it seemed like his defensive behaviors were toward that one person rather than all or most people.
I observed Chop interacting with his handler after going for a brief walk. He was looser in his body, jumping up to solicit more attention, and leaning in for pets from her. He even offered some tail wags. I also approached Chop without any negative response and was able to pet him. He did have nervous shedding going on, but was otherwise relaxed. Chop still seemed interested in the dogs through the fence and other dogs around him. He showed no other defensive behaviors when he was approached by various people. Chop was returned to kennel.
Per staff 5/10: I asked a vol to get Chop out for PG. When he passed by the front of the fence. I went towards the vol and he began hard barking and lunging towards me. I gave him a minute and went forward again but he didn't want anyone near him (poss. also the handler). He passed through the back of the bench as he had a collar that would work instead and was very stiff towards a staff member sitting down. He sniffed curiously as his tail slowly started rising and his mouth tight. The vol pulled him away due to how uncomfortable the situation was. She brought him in for a greeting. She tried to clip his collar but was nervous due to him whipping around and I was asked to be there for assistance. Every time I tried to go near him he would hard bark, growl and lunge towards me. I stood there for a bit to see if he would calm down but his demeanor did not change so the vol brought him into the pen across from the large yard.
Per volunteer 5/10:
I was asked to grab Chop for playgroup. In the kennel, Chop was standing towards the front. I noticed a bunch of treats around him that he had not eaten. I opened the door and he looked up with me with wide, dilated eyes. I introduced the leash and baby talked at him. He sniffed the bottom of the leash and slowly moved his head back. I proceeded forward and slipped the leash over his head with no issues. Once secured, he jumped right out of the kennel.
In the kennels, there were lots of people and other dogs. We did a lot of dodging people and he had no reaction. Outside he had sniff body language and was sniffing. We saw another dog which he pulled towards with loose, forward language. When we arrived at the playground area, he passed multiple staff with no issue. He didn’t seem to make any eye contact or solicit any attention. When one particular staff member walked towards him, Chop lunged and barked at her.
I brought him into the catch pen to attempt a fence greeting. He was vocal towards the other dogs. I started to try to clip the leash on the color and he turned towards me quickly. We decided to give him a break and I brought him the small adjacent pen. Another volunteer decided to come in to see how he would react. Chop largely ignored the volunteer. He continued sniffing around the yard and pooped. The volunteer got closer and he had a neutral reaction.
We started to walk together. We passed another dog that community members were allowing to get close. Chop pulled towards the other dog. I continued to walk with Chop around the parking lot. He seemed hyper vigilant and pulled moderately on the leash, dodging around a bit. We returned to stand near some staff in the lot. He sniffed the staff members. He seemed stiff and did some lip licking. I gave the leash to another volunteer who wanted to walk him. Suddenly, Chop noticed I was beside/in front of him and he seemed to get excited. He started to get loose body language. He jumped up on me in a playful manner. He started to kiss me and solicit attention. He allowed me to pet him all over. He also started to solicit attention from other volunteers, allowing them to pet him for short periods of time. He seems to know sit. The other volunteer walked him inside and put him away. The volunteer reported he had no issues doing so.
Per volunteer 5/10: Shows interest in other dogs; would like to do a dog meet w/ him. Take a slow approach; timid; friendly, but leery of strangers; mild interest in tennis balls.
Per volunteer 5/9:
Approached the kennel and he was laying down, looked at me with whale eye ears back head low.
Stood up with tail down, not wagging, ears back as I offered the leash. He would come forward, but then avoid being leashed, he had very slow and steady movements. He was motivated to come out so he did come right to the front as I cracked the door open, and I was able to leash him, and he walked out of the kennel with mild pulling.
His first mission was to find places to go to the bathroom, then we began to interact with him more and we offered him treats, which he refused. I touched him with the leash and each time he flinched and looked backwards towards the leash. I then pet him with my hand, and he remained unfazed, and was looking around the environment with ears up, tail between middle and high.
He interacted with a female dog through the fence and was stiff, and curious, with tail high not wagging, soon moving to low, not wagging. He also saw some dogs while walking and would fixate and do a small lunge towards them, but was easily redirected, giving some stress yawns.
He pulled moderately to return to kennel and hopped right in, had some whale eye removing the leash, but otherwise was tolerant.
Experienced Blue
Per staff 5/8: When doing my walk through this morning Chop just seemed very depressed and shut down when calling his name he wouldn’t turn around he'd just hide himself a bit under his bed. But while in dog intake, he was a little more loose and slowly started to open up to us. We were able to vaccinate him with no issue, just using a muzzle for precaution given his previous memos, and he did great. He didn't show any signs of aggression and once everything was said and done he got a little looser trying to jump onto a staff member’s lap while giving us slight tail wags. A slower approach would probably be best. May be house trained as kennel was clean this morning and he took a very large pee while in dog intake.
Per staff 5/6: Went outside the lobby door to tell the owner she can put the dog in the car and drive around back, the owner was having a hard time controlling him. The dog lunged at me growling and baring teeth. He got very close to me so I shut the door and went back in.
Summary of owner surrender notes: Loves all toys, running, walks. Lived with an adult, two teens, and a cat. He was not housebroken but was crate trained. He was high energy and knows the commands “sit” and “be nice”. Behavior concerns include not liking new people he doesn’t know, anxiety, and chewing. He had never bitten anyone, but would sometimes snap. On leash he pulls and sometimes gets loose. His favorite toys include bones and ropes. He does not react well to strangers or other dogs, but is good with children and cats. His ideal home would have a big yard, time, and space, and be a family.
MEDICAL:
On 5/14, Chop was diagnosed with an upper respiratory infection (URI) or "doggy cold" and started on doxycycline.
During his intake exam on 5/8, Chop’s eyes were red, but his ears, nose, teeth, and coat were clean. He is an intact male weighing 68 pounds.
Due to being significantly overcapacity with dogs and cats and higher than usual intake, extensions are unlikely to be granted. If you are interested in an animal please contact ACCT Philly immediately.
Due to limited space, timestamps may also be proceeded with early so it is imperative to let us know if you are considering adopting or tagging a dog or cat.
ACCT Philly is located at 111 West Hunting Park Ave in Philadelphia. We are open for adoptions 7 days a week. Please visit www.acctphilly.org/adopt for details.
If you are a rescue interested in pulling this animal, please email our lifesaving team, or visit here if you are not currently a rescue partner: https://acctphilly.org/acct-philly-love-local-partnership-program/
Confirmed placement is considered confirmation of an actual rescue pull. Possible placement, interested parties, and other "TBD" statuses are not considered confirmed and do not indicate an animal is no longer urgent.
All animals at ACCT Philly are from Philadelphia, as the only open intake animal shelter in Philadelphia, we are not able to accept animals from outside of Philadelphia. ACCT Philly’s Pennsylvania kennel license number is 08313
