Mikey

Update 6/30/08: Mikey is a wonderful dog and a rare shelter find, a young, pure bred shih tzu! His foster mom says it’s obvious his previous owner groomed his often because he was wonderful in the bath, acted like an old pro about getting blown dry and he loves to be brushed! He had no problem getting his nails cut either.

Mikey has a luxurious, gorgeous blonde coat and he weighs in at 14 pounds. His records says he is a year and a half old.

Mikey gets along well with the other dogs and cat in his foster home.His foster parents haven’t seen him with children yet but they highly doubt he’d have a problem. Mikey is a very happy go lucky pup, it seems nothing bothers him. He’s patient with his food and with the other dogs taking the toys! He does love playing with toys and playing fetch.

Although he’s good with other dogs, he'd probably be happy with being the only baby around to be spoiled. He loves to cuddle and is very much a lap dog. He walks nicely on a leash and has no desire to really be away from you. Mikey seems to have a very calm nature and doesn't appear to be much of a runner. He is VERY mellow for a 1.5 yr old! His foster family's 2 and 2.5 year old dogs run circles around him.

Mikey is partially deaf but responds well to hand gestures (waving your fingers towards you to get him to come and putting your palm out front to get him to stay). If he’s a distance away from you all you have to do is tap on the floor and he’ll come running.

Notes from our partner shelter: Mikey is Urgent because our partner shelter in Arkansas is full. Mikey is purebred and is 2 years old. He was an owner surrender. He is house trained and crate trained. He gets along with other dogs and cats and loves to play with his toys, His favorite game is to drop them off the bed and then look at you like "well, pick it up for me". Mikey is mostly deaf and because of this and his small size will only be adopted to familys with older or no children.

All known information is listed here. If it is not listed here, then we do not know if this animal is good with cats or kids. Before sending an inquiry, please read the How To Adopt Page & FAQ pages of our website. http:www.almosthomerescue.net. This dog is available unless it is marked as Pending.

This dog is Urgent because the Arkansas shelter where he/she resides is overfull. Please do not ask local shelters to take this dog in, there are many reasons why they cannot. Please also do not send us letters about why we euthanize, AHR does not euthanize, but the shelters we work with do. We are a rescue and we pull as many dogs as we have foster homes and funds for. We, like the shelter, do not have unlimited resources. Please, please: foster, adopt or sponsor a dog to help save their lives.

FOR PUPPIES: HOMES CONSIDERING PUPPIES MUST BE PREPARED FOR:

FLEXIBLE SCHEDULES FOR POTTY TRAINING-THEY CAN ONLY "HOLD" IT FOR ONE HOUR PER MONTH OF AGE.

CRATE TRAINING FOR THE NEXT 10 MONTHS TO KEEP THEM FROM CHEWING EVERYTHING IN SIGHT.

SUPERVISION WITH CHILDREN, AND OBEDIENCE TRAINING.

SOCIALIZATION-A GOOD DOG MUST BE EXPOSED TO ALOT OF STIMULUS AS A PUPPY SO THAT NEW PEOPLE AND ENVIRONMENTS DO NOT INTIMIDATE THEM AS ADULTS. THE MORE POSITIVE EXPERIENCES -IN AND OUT OF THE HOME- AS A PUPPY, THE BETTER.

HOMES THAT WANT TO HAVE GOOD DOGS, MUST BE PREPARED TO PUT THE TIME AND EFFORT INTO TRAINING A PUPPY. IT IS ALOT OF WORK!!! THEIR BEHAVIOR AND STAGES ARE EQUIVILENT TO A 2 OR 3 YEAR OLD CHILD. IT TAKES A FULL YEAR TO HAVE A CALMER, WELL ADJUSTED DOG! PLEASE DO NOT CONSIDER ADOPTING IF YOU HAVE NOT THOROUGHLY THOUGHT THROUGH THE PROS AND CONS OF A PUPPY...SO MANY PEOPLE END UP RETURNING THEM IN 3-5 MONTHS BECAUSE IT IS CHEWING, JUMPING AND HYPER. THIS IS NORMAL PUPPY BEHAVIOR.

PATIENCE, CHEWIES, SOCIALIZATION, SUPERVISION AND OBEDIENCE TRAINING IS A MUST!!

. We pay a Transportation Service from Arkansas to bring the dogs to New England. The adoption fee is $250.00 for altered dogs. $350. for unaltered puppies, with $100 refundable after spay/neuter. All Senior dogs 6 years or older have a reduced adoption fee of $200. This includes vaccinations, spay/neuter and transport from Arkansas to Maine. All dogs will be tested for Heartworm prior to adoption. Almost Home Rescue will process your adoption. Applications can be found at www.almosthomerescue.net and can be e-mailed attention of Christine: [email protected] for this particular dog.