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Posted over 3 months ago
| Updated over 2 months ago
I found a new home! Plenty of my friends are looking for one too. Check out other pets at this shelter, or start a new search.
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My basic info
Breed
Rat Terrier/Chihuahua
Color
Tricolor (Tan/Brown & Black & White)
Age
10 years 3 months old, Senior
Size
Small 25 lbs (11 kg) or less (when grown)
Weight
13 lbs (current)
Sex
Male
Pet ID
–
My details
Good with dogs
Good with cats
Shots current
Spayed / Neutered
Housetrained
My personality
My story
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Here's what the humans have to say about me:
This little cutie puts the gentle into gentleman. Calm, friendly, polite and affectionate - Dexter is just easy to have around.
HISTORY
Dexter was released to HART in June 2024 after his previous owner, an elderly wheelchair-bound gentleman, died. He was sad for a while and he needed some catch-up vet care, but with patience and loving attention he's come out of his shell, and is now ready to meet his forever family.
His breed mix is our best guess based on his appearance and temperament.
SOCIALIZATION
Calm and confident, Dexter responds to an unfamiliar environment by following his nose on a tour of exploration. He quickly adapted to the rules and routines of his foster home.
Dexter is comfortable and polite when meeting new people. With people he knows well and trusts he is affectionate but not needy. He hasn't been exposed to young children while in our care, but we would expect him to be good with polite, gentle children aged about six and over.
He shares his foster home with two small dogs and several cats, as well as caged birds and poultry, and he is friendly but politely ignores them most of the time. When visiting a home with several large dogs he was calm and not greatly interested in more than a friendly sniff.
GENERAL BEHAVIOR AND TEMPERAMENT
Dexter is the definition of mellow. He enjoys attention, and will come up to ask for it occasionally, but he spends most of the day contentedly curled up in his bed, watching the events of the day unfold. He'll great you with a happy dance, he enjoys the occasional tasty chew (despite not having any teeth), and now and then he'll poke around with a toy, but mostly he's content to kick back and do nothing.
Given the opportunity to sniff around someplace new, however, he thoroughly enjoys following his nose to see where it leads him. He quietly enjoys car rides and likes going for walks and visiting interesting places, and given time to build up his fitness he'd probably be good for a casual hike or neighborhood stroll of a few miles.
TRAINING
Dexter's house manners are excellent. He rarely barks and is never destructive. He is reliably house-trained. He's probably crate trained, but is so well-behaved even when left alone that no crate is necessary.
He probably hasn't ever had any formal training, but he knows what he needs to be a good companion. He walks well on a leash, and his recall is good provided he hears you. He's probably not a candidate for further training, but he'll pick up what he needs to know to make his human happy.
HEALTH STATUS
Dexter weighs a sturdy 13 lbs, and is generally in good shape, with no evidence of arthritis. We were told he was 10 years old, but our vet believes he may be a little younger based on his condition.
However, he does appear to have cataracts that impede his vision, and his hearing isn't great. When we took him in we found that his teeth were pretty much held together by tartar, and a full mouth extraction was necessary. This doesn't interfere with his enjoyment of his dinner, however, and unlike many dogs who lose their teeth he's able to keep his tongue from lolling. He also has a small cherry eye that doesn't seem to cause significant discomfort, and our vet recommended against surgery.
He has been neutered, microchipped, treated for internal and external parasites, and fully vaccinated. All available vet records will be provided to his adopter.
ADOPTION INFORMATION
Dexter is living in a private home in Kennewick, and will be available to meet you after your adoption application has been approved. Please email HearthfireART@gmail.com to request an adoption application form. Heath's adoption fee is $185.
For more pictures of Dexter, please see his Facebook album at https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?vanity=HearthfireAnimalRescueTeam&set=a.828122062802218
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