Amos1

Although probably mixed with Labrador Retriever or possibly even Pointer, Amos is predominantly Bull Terrier in physical appearance. Amos languished in the Lawrence County, KY shelter for a month beyond the legally mandated 5 days for unclaimed strays. When he was picked up by the Dog Warden in this Appalachian County, Amos was not the "happy-go-lucky", pretty boy he is today. Poor Amos was suffering from demodectic mange, a non-contagious immune disorder which is exacerbated by stress and which is a common genetic disorder in Bull Terriers. (This is not to be confused with sarcoptic mange, which IS contagious.) With the itching and associated sores and missing patches of hair, he was not a pretty picture. And, even if he had been, nobody wanted a 10-month old puppy when there were so many "brand new" puppies at the pound--mostly hyperactive babies. And Amos is one of the calmest puppies you will ever meet. While in the pound, Amos was dipped with Mitaban to eliminate his mite problem and must never, ever be given steroids (Prednisone, etc.) unless in a life threatening situation as weakening the immune system would manifest in demodectic mange. Other than that or being stresssed, Amos should not have any recurrence of demodectic mange. After over a month in the pound, Amos won the foster home lottery. Now in a foster home with many other dogs ranging from 5 to 85 lbs., Amos plays with even the most active of them but basically has a very stoic demeanor and personality except that he always has a smile on his face. He very definitely likes the dogs who are bigger than himself best, and his favorite buddy in his foster home is a 60 lb. jet black Lab mix named Chandler who just recently completed treatments to eliminate nearly fatal heartworms. For naps during the day and at night, Amos often cuddles up with Chandler head to head, often with his forearms on Chandler's. It is nice because Chandler has been in his foster home for 5 months but has not been accepted as "one of the guys" because they don't like wimps. Now he has a very special friend of his own who doesn't threaten or bully him. Amos has decided he's tired of being bullied by some of the other longer term residents--all of whom are smaller than he is--so he will "down" the aggressors on their backs and stand over them until they "cry uncle" or his foster mom cries STOP, but he has not attacked any of them though it often seems justifiable to his foster mom. With the exception of one midnight chase incident, Amos has been fine with the 9 cats in residence. However, because Bull Terriers were bred for strong prey behaviors and because Amos runs after any cat that runs from him--especially at midnight, it is recommended that Amos be placed only in a cat-less home. MORE INFORMATION ON AMOS IS CONTAINED IN THE ENTRY LABELED AMOS2.