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My basic info
Breed
Australian Shepherd/English Shepherd
Color
Merle
Age
10 years 3 months old, Adult
Size
Med. 26-60 lbs (12-27 kg) (when grown)
Weight
55 lbs (current)
Sex
Male
Pet ID
2445
My details
Not good with kids
Good with dogs
Shots current
Spayed / Neutered
Housetrained
My story
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Here's what the humans have to say about me:
COMING SOON
This hunk of a guy is Rafa. We don't know much about his backstory. He is not reactive, seems appropriately confident given his tribulations so we suspect that he had a good start. We don't know why he ended up in a shelter after 5 years. We do know that he was adopted in May 2019, and found himself in an unfortunate situation. His adopters were, perhaps, well-meaning, but not very shepherd savvy. Reading between the lines of the dog surrender profile, Rafa got no training, guidance, boundaries or positive reinforcement in his most recent placement - only shrieks and screams if he did something wrong. He bit the adult he felt was menacing the children after two months in the home. He was returned to the shelter post-haste,
He is now laying happily on the floor while I look for a way to describe this remarkably resilient fellow to you. This guy is already ready to be the right person's shepherd. His person will admire the Aussie mindset to love and care for his whole family. It's his job. They will love the way he looks to them for direction and help him grow his skills, marveling at how quickly he picks things up, and how happy he looks when he 'gets' a new thing. He can sit, down, come, catch a treat, walks fair on the leash - better each day, loves to go in the car. He slid right into the resident dog pack without incident. A little wary of the crate at first but now he trots right in at bedtime or if we have to go out. He's a shepherd who can see your patterns even before you know you have them. At five years old he is in the prime of his life: happy to be an active participant on outings, happily receptive to training sessions. Is he perfect? Not yet, but he's perfectly willing to be the perfect you'd like him to be.
Rafa is working on not jumping up, staying off the furniture, at least until invited, and dropping those extra sedentary- life pounds from about 55 lbs to 48-50 lbs via exercise. We want him to decompress here for at least a month so he can be in his best mind-set for his forever home, but he's a pretty chill guy already. A fenced yard would be nice but not essential if there are regular other outings. Dog friends would be fine but also not essential if he got to romp with buddies at a dog park. Good with kids, chases cats but could be talked out of it, I think. Pretty interested in the goats/chickens/horses but we have not made introductions. If Rafa sounds like your kind of guy please submit an application. We'll be buffing up his body and softening down his recent memories while we get ready for some fun meet and greets. Yes, Rafa - you get to go in the car!
Here is our application: https://www.australianshepherdsfurever.org/adoption-application
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