Cassie is a young female who was turned over to a shelter in Everett after being found as a
stray and therefore has no background information. She is estimated to be around 2 years old,
and came into the shelter underweight, heavily matted, and littered with wounds.
When pulled from the shelter, she was shut down and anxious. She spent the first couple days
in an x-pen to get acclimated to a home environment. At first, she had no interest in seeing the
other dogs of the household, even snapping at them if they entered the same room her x-pen
was in. By day three, she was able to be off leash outside with them. And by day four she was
loose in the house with no issue.
Cassie spent the first two weeks showing slow, yet steady signs of progress as she got
accustomed to her new environment. She learned how to navigate with new dogs, she put on
weight, and her wounds were healing.
Then in week three, there was a road bump in her progress. Cassie was examined by a vet
when she arrived at the shelter and was determined to be spayed, however she went into
season. Because she was in a home with an in-tact male, she lost freedom of the house and the
progress she had made regressed some.
After she was out of season, she started to gain some confidence back. And now almost seven
weeks out of the shelter she has continued to settle into a normal lifestyle. She is interested in
people at the dog food store and vet’s office and while she can be hesitant with strangers at
times, she is described as sweet and cute by those who meet her. She does seem to struggle a
bit with greeting men and will still not come into the house for either of the men she lives with.
While she is all around a sweet, loving girl she does have a few bad habits that will require
patient, consistent effort. Cassie will need an experienced Belgian home who can help address
and work through these problems. Her best chance at finding her forever home will come with a
firm, yet gentle training approach and constant support system.
House Manners/Temperament
- She appears to be house-trained and has not had an accident in the house. She lets you
know when she has to go out, whether she is loose or in an x-pen. - She is not destructive and is able to be loose with supervised access to the whole house
without any incidents of breaking or damaging anything. (Although she is put in an x-pen
when left alone.) - The door outside is one of her biggest stressors. Over time she has gotten better at
walking inside with the other dogs in the house, but she remains inconsistent and will
play “keep-away” to stay outside. Using any beckoning words or gestures such as “come
here” or kneeling down only serves to further stress her. - She will run. Cassie got out of the front door in the first week, and it took several people
to catch her. While she has shown improvements on her recall, she still seems to watch
the front door. - Cassie is able to be loose with the two dogs in her foster home (both Belgian
Sheepdogs) and has happily played with a Golden Retriever puppy in the yard.
However, when out in public she has been apprehensive of two “doodle” dogs that she
seen at a distance.
- She gets “pushy” happy. Cassie is a very playful, silly girl when she comes out of her
shell. With dogs she will make happy bark/grumble noises, bite the air in front of their
face, and body check them. Depending on the dog, this can be a little too pushy.
Training
Cassie goes on morning neighborhood walks alongside two other dogs and is for the
most part okay on a leash. Besides occasional pulling, her one big stressor is other dogs
(Specifically barking dogs and those running the fence in their yard.) She will get overly
excitable; rearing up on her back legs, spinning frantically, pulling at the end of the leash.
She works herself up and seems unperturbed by verbal or (mild) leash corrections in
those instances. We are able to get her to refocus and she seems to use our dogs as a
gauge on how to behave/react.
She did not recognize any verbal commands or hand gestures when she first came out
of the shelter. Over several weeks, Cassie has slowly started to pick up on “come here,”
“get out,” and “wait” by watching the other dogs. She is a smart girl and with some time
and commitment, we believe she will pick it up.
- She has not received any formal training, as the focus of the first few weeks has been
building trust.
Food
- She gets highly excitable at mealtime, or whenever someone is cooking in the kitchen.
She is constantly underfoot, dancing around, but will (mostly) listen when told to get out. - She does not show any signs of food aggression around other dogs, however she is not
shy to shove another dog out of their own food bowl to get some. Therefore, she eats in
a closed x-pen. - She will steal food. She has snuck into the pantry and pulled out a food bag (even
opened it with her teeth.)
While Cassie is a sweet girl that is eager for affection and has a desire to learn, she needs
someone who is willing to put in the work to earn her trust. She will continue to be a ‘work in
progress’ as she learns how to navigate a home environment, and therefore needs a very
specific forever home. She is not a dog that will quickly or easily acclimate to a new
environment and needs someone who is ready to spend a considerable amount of time helping
her.
If you feel you could possibly be a fit for Casie and would like to give or her all your love and a “forever” home, please go to the tab on our website – Available Dogs. Click on it and then the Adoption Info which appears underneath. It would be helpful if you took the time to read through the adoption process and learn more about the steps involved. Then, if you wish to be considered, just look to your right and click on the “online” adoption form. One completed, you can click submit and it will come directly to us.
IF you have completed a form recently and wish to be considered, please email us at – moc.l1733339241iamg@1733339241eucse1733339241rgodp1733339241eehsn1733339241aigle1733339241b41733339241, give us your name, approximately when you last applied, your questions and/or comments on why you feel you would be the best fit for (dog’s name) and we will respond.