Size
(when grown) X-Large 101 lbs (46 kg) or more
Details
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Story
Herman ACCT-A-162386 is currently considered urgent and at risk of euthanasia due to behavioral concerns. Herman must have confirmed placement with a RESCUE PARTNER by Tuesday, April 30th by 10:00 am. Should Herman's medical or behavioral status change, his urgency and timeline for placement may also change.
Due to being significantly overcapacity with animals 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 an animal.
Meet Herman! This extremely handsome corso mix found himself at ACCT on 4/20 after he was running loose and ran into a yard. Herman was understandably scared and reactive when coming into the shelter. He has taken ample time to adjust and has had a tough time doing so. In kennel Herman enjoys people watching from afar and peering out throughout the day, but can be quite nervous to actually leave the kennel. Herman has been reactive to leashing, but once outside walks great given his size! Outside Herman is nervous and requires lots of time to warm up and trust his handlers. While he does give signals when uncomfortable, he can be difficult to read at times and gives more subdued body language signals vs easier to read or more obvious signs of discomfort. Herman has shown though that he knows sit, loves snacks, loves toys, and once he trusts you he allows head and back scratches. Herman needs an experienced handler who understands his breed and protective nature. He also needs someone well versed in reading body language cues and someone who can work with him and provide him with structure and time to trust. Given his behavioral needs and uncomfortability with handling at times, Herman is only available to a rescue partner at this time. With the right love and support we believe Herman will make a great companion and has a lot of potential to blossom!
BEHAVIORAL:
4/25 per staff: After a few days of decompress time from a traumatic arrival I decided to ask another staff member to take Herman out as he was more social as the days have gone by this week. I have decided to give him more attention as the days have gone by to see the real sparkle of Herman emerge. When I presented the leash he did retreat to the other side of the kennel as to say he did not want to go out while I was waiting for the staff member to come over. He loves treats, and high value ones as well. He takes them very nicely. He knows sit, and wants to follow and you be leader. after we got him out of kennel he was exit searching a bit, once out the door and in the driveway he wanted to sniff every square inch he could. He walked very well on leash and when asked to sit he would. We went very slow with him with handling as to gain his trust and let him know everything was ok. I was able to give him good scratchies, we enjoyed the grass and he would lean in a few times, but wanted his space as well. Never a growl, or snarl but would let you know when it was a little much with a small stare. We did a three way meet with Tortilla and Jimmy that went very well with a lot of tail nub wags. When Jimmy got a little over aroused Herman did not react in a negative way. We brought him into the eval room to attempt check in where he was a champ and need little to no restraint to receive his vaccines. No muzzling required. I was able to give him good head and chest pets that he enjoyed. He went back into kennel clipped off with no issues. I would suggest 2 handlers because of his pure size at the moment.
4/25 per staff: Took Herman out again today with another staff member to see if he is doing any better. In kennel Herman was interested but retreated right away from leashing, similar to before. I lowered the divider right away knowing he would retreat otherwise. He then became defensive and reactive to the leash once the divider was lowered growling, barking, and baring teeth at it. After a couple lasso attempts I got it over his head and once out of kennel Rachel placed her leash on him as well due to his strength. We took him for a walk outside where he walked great on leash! He used the bathroom multiple times and enjoyed sniffing around and people watching from afar maintaining fairly neutral body language. He was a bit stiff at times and did not appear comfortable, but never was tense or escalated past some hard eye contact at times. He once again demonstrated knowledge of sit and took treats readily as they were offered. He was very gentle when taking treats from his handler and was excited and ready to take them. He was still nervous towards handling at first and would turn to hard stare, but as time went on became more comfortable towards it. He allowed me to scratch his back and after ample time outside he became more neutral bodied towards handling and was tolerant of the other staff member scratching his head and back and the sides of his chest. He is untrusting at first, but the more time he spend with you he does warm up. He can be difficult to read at times and gives very small and subdued body language signals when uncomfortable, so watching his signals is very important. He did well meeting a couple other dogs outside as well and greeted them with tail nub wags and remained calm and well behaved when another dog began to escalate on him. He also did well for his medical check in and was able to distract him by scratching him in an itchy spot while a nurse quickly did his vaccines. Herman needs an experienced handler who understands his breed and protective nature. He also needs someone well versed in reading body language cues and someone who can work with him and provide him with structure and time to trust.
4/23 per staff: Took Herman out of kennel yesterday for an eval. When approaching Herman in kennel he was alert barking at the front with raised hackles, slightly tense body, and a wagging nub. He appeared interested in coming outside though so I showed the leash. he then retreated away grumbling and continuing to bark. I waited until he came back to the front and then tried to lasso him with the leash. He remained towards the middle of kennel barking and baring teeth, continuing to wag his nub. Once I got the leash on his head and it tightened he began to snarl and charge the bars becoming more reactive. Due to his, his size, and previous behavior we opted to double leash him for safety. once leashed he was hesitant to exit the kennel but did so when we gave him lots of space. He pulled heavily on leash. He did appear housebroken and peed for a few minutes out of kennel and then we went to the eval room. He had hard eye contact and was lip licking a lot but would give spurts of nub wags when talking to him. I focused on interaction while the other handler held main leash. Herman would approach me with wags but as he got close to me he would stiffen and give hard eyes and raise his lip slightly. I showed him a toy and he perked up at this and did some toe taps and played with it for a few minutes. I tried to interact with him again and when approaching from the side I was able to pet his mid back lightly and he kicked his leg like he was itchy and wagged his nub. However when trying to touch him another time he then swung around growling at me and hard staring. He was very conflicted and this happened several times where sometimes he would be ok with handling, but others would whip around, growl, bare teeth, and hard stare. He was very conflicted while out and as he settled in more with us the more tense and reactive he got to handling and interaction. I was able to scan him for a chip (positive) moving very slowly. When returning to kennel he went in without any issues. Used clip method to return
4/22 per staff: Unable to remove from kennel hard barking at the front of kennel and growling
4/21 per staff: Unable to check in due to behavior, Herman was at front of kennel tense and hard barking, I put my had to the bars and he bared teeth
4/20 per staff: Herman needs major decompress time. He is very nervous and scared. We had to use a control pole to remove from the truck, but we also tried to give him some sedative to get him off the truck. Took about 45 mins. He did nip his jowls a few times causing some bleeding. Did feed and he didn't charge with divider up, very interested in mixed food ate the whole bowl, but will low growl at you in kennel but not charge. He was ok with me being there talking to him. He is just very scared right now and unsure
VIDEO:
Tortilla Meets Herman: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/AnZvJUTbeHI
Herman and Jimmy: https://youtu.be/5mN5GLLzqi4?si=2wbarCjUGRLgHGpP
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
