Derby

Derby has an exotic and beautiful look. His ears stick up and he has great dark brown eyeliner highlighting his almond shaped eyes. What a handsome guy! He's probably mostly pit bull, but looks an awful lot like a boxer, particularly from the side. His bottom jaw sticks out a bit.

But Dery is much more than just a handsome face. He's a great dog with a fantastic personality. He's an exemplary pit bull - happy, smart, athletic, sweet, loving, funny, and goofy. If someone thinks pit bulls are bad dogs, they won't after meeting Derby. Derby is a great ambassador for the breed.

Derby recently visited Noah's Arf for doggie daycare. He had a wonderful time and the staff loved him! They said Derby was friendly and playful. Derby made some new friends and had a great day playing.

People & Derby: Derby loves everyone he gets to meet, men and women, and is overall very good about not jumping up on people even during the exciting moment of his humans coming home after work. He’s just loved everyone that’s come to visit us at the house and he’s adored adoption days with all the attention he gets from everyone. In such an exciting environment he does absolutely wonderful still approaching people without jumping.

Children: He’s an incredibly sweet tempered boy. He’s very gentle with children. Of course he is a young playful boy and if you get him into a rowdy, playful mood when toddlers are around they might get knocked over.

Cats: Derby hasn't lived with a cat in his foster homes, but Derby passed his "cat test" with flying colors. It took him a while to even notice the cat, but when he did he just crept up for a closer look. The cat hissed and took a swipe for him. Derby backed away quickly and moved on to investigate other things. He was the opposite of obsessive - pretty much indifferent toward the cat. Of course if theh cat ran, Derby might think that's fun and chase, but if you have a cat that stads her ground, it'll be fine.

Health: Derby is a very healthy young boy. He’s current on all of his vaccines and has been neutered. Derby does best if he gets digestive enzymes with his meals. These are available at any health food store like New Season's. If he doesn't get the digestive enzymes his stool is softer than it should be. They'll run you about $10 per month. Derby weighs 60 pounds.

Furniture: Derby is good about not climbing up on the furniture if you don't want him up, but he would really like to sleep with you! The other night he stood at the foot of the bed and gave me a sad look. When I said "OK" and patted the bed he gave me a huge smile (yes, he smiles!) and jumped 5 feet into the air and onto the bed then spun around and curled up into a little ball at the foot of the bed. He was so happy!

Chewing: Derby likes to have lots of toys to chew on and we haven't had a problem with him chewing on anything inappropriate even when left loose in the house for long periods.

Crates: He is crate trained and will go into it on command. He does OK in the crate - doesn't destroy anything or bark constantly, but he doesn't like it and drools a lot in there. So we've been leaving him loose in the house with our other dogs and they do just fine all day. They have toys to chew on, but probably just sleep and watch Animal Planet all day!

Barking: He’s not a barker at all. He sometimes barks when he's playing and is really excited. Otherwise, he’s a good alert dog if someone is coming up to the house since he comes to attention and will run to see who’s coming in, but he won’t whine, bark or freak-out.

Leashes: Derby does well on leash. At first I have to remind him to stay right next to me, then he settles into that pattern and does well. He's a good jogging partner, he's happy to trot along and doesn't always try to stop and smell the bushes. Derby is interested in other dogs and sometimes pulls toward them, but he doesn't throw a fit to get to them. Derby has been friendly meeting other dogs on leash.

Other Dogs: When it comes to other dogs, Derby definitely loves to chase and wrestle. He plays like a boxer. He is living with two other full sized dogs - one male and one female. They have fun playing and get along well, although Derby, being the youngest one, sometimes pesters the others when they feel like napping. When the other dogs get grumpy and bark or snap at him, he just runs away. He’s done relatively well with small dogs, he doesn’t really seem to know what to do with them but looks terribly excited when he sees them. When he approaches he goes up quickly and will stand over the dog and (it seems) tries to figure out what to do next because he doesn’t put a paw up on them like he will do often with other big dogs but instead just wags the tail faster and bounces a little.

Car Rides: He rides in the car well; he’s never gotten sick or had an accident. I have a truck with a canopy on back so he’s usually not within licking distance of me, but on the few occasions I have had him in that position he’s proven he will get up pretty close to you and if it’s hot, he does have a bit of a drippy tongue he doesn’t have a drool problem though which is very nice.

Grooming: He grooms very easily. I’ve bathed him, clipped his nails, checked his ears and teeth, handled his paws, feet, tail and toes and every other inch of him and he’s handled it all like a champ. Even with tugging on his tail or ears he doesn’t react poorly which is great around kids (should some visit you). He’s also done really great at the vet with all kinds of uncomfortable procedures; they love him down there.

Digging: We haven't seen that Derby is a digger. Of course, he should never be left outside alone. These dogs are a very common theft target and have been known to be snatched right out of their owner’s fenced back yards… very sad thought.

Training: He trains easily. He knows wait which I use for the car, stairs, doors, water, food, treats, toys, and picking up stuff while on leash. He also knows sit and is pretty good with down (lie down). He’s also done well with drop it and has been very well behaved around human food when it’s within his reach. The only other ones I’ve worked on is heeling, dance and crawl which he knows somewhat. Beyond those few basics, which he picked up fairly easily, I simply have not taught him much more due to the difficulty with three pups. He seems very intelligent, responds well to praise and affection as a reward and would do an Irish jig for you if you have food in your hand so you should have no problem teaching him more of your own tricks and tools.

Adoption Process: We are not first come first served. Indigo Rescue focuses on finding good matches between dogs and families to ensure life long adoptions. We deliver all dogs to their new homes.

All of our dogs are in foster homes. We have adoption events at the Beaverton PetSmart every other Saturday where you can meet many of our dogs at once. Click Here for our Calendar of Events. Or, if you're interested in a particular dog, you can send an e-mail via the e-mail link at the bottom of the page ("Email Indigo Rescue") with answers to the questions below. If the dog seems compatible with your situation we'll set up a time for you to meet the dog.

Do you have other pets now? (briefly describe)

Have you had pets in the past? What became of them?

What is your schedule like? How long/often will the dog be alone?

What kind of exercise will the dog get? (type/frequency)

Where will the dog be while you're gone? Where will the dog be when you're home? Where will the dog sleep?

Are you in a home or apartment? How long have you lived there? Do you have a fully, securely fenced yard? (type/height)

Do you own or rent your home?

Who else lives in the home? Do you have children? How old are the children?

What changes in your life are likely in the next 10+ years (or life span of the dog) and how will the changes affect the dog? (moving, job or schedule change, school, having children)

Anything else you'd like us to consider in finding the right dog for your family?

Thank you for your interest in adopting and saving a life!

Indigo Rescue only adopts to homes within 50 miles of Portland.

Adoption Fee: $150