Aspen

Aspen's loving foster parents write: Aspen is an incredibly sweet and loving dog with an old-soul energy. She is emotionally intuitive and very attuned to her humans' mood states. This combined with her bouts of silly youthfulness means that she's both big-hearted and loving, but also an entertaining goofball. She strikes the perfect balance between affection and independence. While she loves waking up to you, spending mornings and evenings snuggling, and following you around the house, she is also able to keep herself independently entertained through enrichment activities such as treat treasure hunts, snuffle mats, and any game that involves rope toys (her favorite!). Aspen is a fantastic apartment dog; she almost never barks (even around very loud neighbor dogs), is non-destructive (has never chewed on any furniture), and is phenomenally well-behaved when left alone for several hours (she will nap quietly until you return). Her energy level is medium; she does not need a backyard to run around in all day, and instead prefers leisurely, sniff-heavy walks. While Aspen is laidback and easygoing in countless ways, she also struggles with some anxiety, and she can be mistrustful and nervous around unfamiliar people. To introduce her, we take her on a walk with the new person for a few minutes and have the person toss her treats before we bring them inside our home, and she generally warms up to them in just a few minutes. Aspen has made enormous progress in decreasing her reactivity to other dogs, but she would likely need to be the only dog in a household, and would need to avoid off-leash dog parks without further dedicated training. We do not have any information on how she would do with cats or other small household pets. On the few occasions we have seen her interact with young kids, she has appeared somewhat stressed and uncomfortable. She periodically engages in compulsive behaviors (repetitive tail-chasing before eating and fixating on shifting lights and shadows); these behaviors are not life-interfering and she takes medication to manage them. The last few months spent with Aspen have filled our lives with joy and love, and we're excited to introduce this very special dog to anyone that would love a cuddly bundle of love in their lives!