Size
(when grown) X-Large 101 lbs (46 kg) or more
Details
Spayed or Neutered,
Story
Flurry is a loyal, affectionate, lost boy who is adrift in life without a loving human anchor. After being pulled from a high-kill Texas shelter by a rescue that ended up abandoning him along with dozens of other dogs, he was left in a dusty pen 24/7, until one day someone dug under the fence, and he and another male dog were able to get into a fight. With so many other dogs on the property, he had to be put in an outdoor kennel and was stuck in there for nearly a year and a half. While the other dogs left on the property found homes one by one; being a bigger dog, and not great with other dogs, he was at the bottom of the list. Finally one day his chance came, and Flurry was offered a spot in a foster home with a bunch of university students in Ontario. He got off the bus and found himself the center of attention for a whole group of people and his world exploded with joy! He just loved every little part of his new experience of being a well-cared-for pet...somehow one minute was even better than the one before it and he was in heaven. The sorrow of his many, many months of waiting in the hot Texas sun for his life to start just melted away. Living inside where it's warm and dry, or cool and dry, with soft places to sleep, and having people to lean on for pets and snuggles seems to be all he ever dreamed of.While he was living with the university kids, people were in and out of the house all the time. He loved it. He had no problem with visitors and welcomed tummy rubs from one and all. As a matter of fact, he expected them, and pretty much insisted that each guest paid a tummy-rub entry fee. He doesn't care who you are or who you vote for as long as you have some time to give him some loving'. He even joined us at our booth at the Outdoor Adventure Show in Toronto, where he was calm and friendly in a crowd of hundreds of people.Incredibly, things got even better for Flurry when he got adopted this spring, by a lovely woman with 3 youngish sons. The family bonded with Flurry deeply from minute one. He had found his soulmate, and she even had 3 new BFFs for him to play and snuggle with. They called him Oliver. It's hard to imagine how life could have been better. Flurry was home.....Until one day, he suddenly lunged at the woman's 70-something year old mother. He had growled at her a few times, but not consistently so the woman disregarded the signs. When the grandma was at the house the time prior to this incident, he was completely fine and normal with her. In retrospect, the woman feels that Flurry displayed this negative attitude towards the grandma only when the boys were present. The woman was absolutely devastated; Flurry had filled a hole in her heart and gave her the constant stream of love and affection she'd been missing. They were a perfect match and she didn't want to lose him. She was prepared to undertake training to overcome this hurdle, but her mother was definitely not. She would no longer help with babysitting the boys until Flurry had been rehomed. We posted him for re-adoption. It felt like an unimaginable blessing to have gotten a new application for him almost immediately! A young couple in Oakville wanted him to be their first dog. They were told all about his background, of course, and we felt optimistic that he'd adapt well to their household as he'd be getting loads of attention and cuddles. The couple understood that he isn't well-socialized with other dogs, but at both his foster home and his home with the woman, he mostly ignored other dogs he'd see on walks and he wasn't described by anyone as being reactive. But it didn't go well. We can't know if it was because his heart was shattered to be taken from his beloved family, or if he just sensed something he didn't like about his new woman, or maybe it was just because his new neighbourhood has more dogs than he'd been used to and he started feeling overwhelmed. Sometimes dogs sense if their handler is intimidated, and become protective. The wife of this couple found him to be difficult to manage on leash walks. She'd never had a big dog who was reactive to other dogs and didn't know how to calm or redirect him, and refused to consult a trainer for support. She became so anxious that Flurry seemed to realize that she didn't really like him, and she made him uncomfortable. Naturally that didn't help their relationship, and after only 10 days with him, she called it quits. It's worth noting that her husband is wild about Flurry, and thinks he's perfect, other than his dislike for his wife. He called Flurry the perfect man's-best-friend. There are quite a few people who've gotten to know him over the past half a year, and they all said the same things about him, that he's super friendly, loves tummy rubs and head scritches and couch cuddling, has been happy with a few regular leash-walks a day, and mostly ignores other dogs. Clearly he can also be reactive towards other dogs, and his adopter should be prepared to learn how to manage this. A rural home or one in an area where he can walk without passing a constant parade of other dogs would be ideal. He's about 80-ish pounds. He's been known to be a pretty mellow guy, whose main thing is chilling out on the couch. Until moving to Oakville, he was described as being quiet and calm and an altogether lovely dog. He's very smart, LOVES to learn, and thrives with someone willing to play training games with him. LOVES his toys, will play as long as someone will play with him. We think he comes with working-dog genes, so he responds very positively to mental stimulation. Although he's been content without tons and tons of exercise, he does love to go on long walks and explore, and he'd probably be happiest with an active lifestyle. Weight: ~75 poundsGender: Male, NeuteredBreed: Lab XColour: WhiteMedical (past and present) & HW Status: Treated for HW; UTDGood with adults: YesGood with kids: YesGood with dogs: Needs proper introductionsGood with cats: NoHouse trained: YesCrate trained: YesCrate aggressive: Towards other dogs but never towards humansFood aggressive: Towards other dogs but never towards humans, will need to be fed separatelyLeash trained: Getting there!Energy level: MediumSuitable for an apartment: NoCan be handled: YesBarker: Not so far