Stirling ACCT-A-178920 is currently considered urgent and at risk of euthanasia due to length of stay and lack of space for incoming dogs. Stirling must have confirmed placement with a ADOPTER or RESCUE PARTNER by Saturday, NOVEMBER 9TH at 10AM. Should Stirling's medical or behavioral status change, his urgency and timeline for placement may also change.
Stirling came to ACCT when a Good Samaritan found him running loose, and contained him in their yard. He was described as "friendly," and while he had a little trouble adjusting to the kennels, we've seen him relax and open up to his new friends at the shelter.
Behavior Eval notes:
10/23 KENNEL PRESENTATION:
Stirling was laying on his bed with his face in his paws when I approached. He looked up with wide, semi hard eyes and did not come forward. He lifted his head when I reached for the door, and when I opened it he jumped up with mid level wags and softer eyes. I crouched down and he came right up to the door, booty wiggling with his wags, and allowed me to leash him easily; although he did step through the leash and come tumbling into my lap. He allowed me to restrain him and lift his leg to get it out of the loop without issue.
LEASH SKILLS:
Pulls moderately
HANDLING:
In the yard Stirling sniffed around and went potty for a few minutes. He is a BIG grass kicker, and sent pebbles flying each time he went potty. He did not consistently come when I called him, but did come once and allowed all over handling with a neutral body. He was pretty focused on all the smells in the yard, so he wasn't focusing on me too much. He appeared aloof, but it may have been due to being outside with all of the smells. When I tried to get him to interact with me his eyes were semi soft, but he would do a lot of lip licks as well. Stirling never solicited, just kept to himself. I tried one last time to see if he would interact at all, so I crouched down and called him over. He came up, and appeared to solicit at first, leaning into my legs and chest. He allowed some all over pets, but quickly began mounting me. I pulled him off but he was persistent, and did some short frustration growls as he tried to get back to my leg. I wrapped the leash around a pole in the yard to keep him away from me, but he began to leash bite and chew on the leash. I was worried he would chew through the leash, so I unwrapped him and short armed him again, walking to the gate. He tried one more time to jump up and mount, but when he saw we were leaving his focus shifted finally. I was able to walk him back to kennels without issue, and he hopped right in.
PLAY
No interest
TOYS:
Interest in toys but no possession
COLOR LEVEL & ANY RECOMMENDATIONS:
Experienced Blues - Put on evaluate and get back out with another handler to test how he reacts to being stopped from mounting
10/23 When brought back outside for further evaluation Stirling displayed similar behavior to earlier in the day in the yard; just sniffing around and remaining fairly aloof to us at first. Once he saw another dog pass by he got very overstimulated and immediately began to mount his main handler and would not let up. He was able to be easily pulled off without issue, but would keep trying to get back to his main handler to mount more. He allowed all over handling from both of us but would not stop continuing to try to mount. He never escalated, but given his arousal issues he should not go to a home with children.
10/24 Stirling had some mixed reactions during his dog meets today. The first dog he met, Jarvis, was a much larger male. Stirling postured at the fence at him with a high tail and tense body, and began to growl at Jarvis. We decided to try another dog to see if Stirling was just a little selective. We tried another male closer to his size and while Stirling was very forward, he did sniff the dog with mid level wags and allowed the other dog to sniff him as well.
Per volunteer 10/26: Stirling was very wiggly in kennel. He went to the bathroom almost immediately outside so he does appear to maybe be house trained. Is a little strong on the leash, but is manageable. We did see a few dogs outside and Stirling would stare and stiffen but no other behaviors, just observing. I was able to easily redirect on the leash and bring him into a dog run. No real interest in toys and he took treats for me in the kennel, but not really outside. Well behaved on our walk- we passed someone and Stirling allowed me to pet and hang with him while the other person passed.
We would really like to see Stirling leave with someone who can commit to him; decompression, while always essential, is the best way to set Stirling up for success. His friends at the shelter say that he's really good at walking on the leash, and that he loves attention. After his first day, Stirling consistently received scores of "0" on his walk sheet, indicating he gave his handler no issues exiting or returning to his kennel.
Video:
+ Stirling and Drama: https://youtube.com/shorts/PQCdFNbcKFk?feature=share
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ACCT Philly is located at 111 West Hunting Park Ave in Philadelphia. We are open for adoptions 7 days a week. Please visit www.acctphilly.org/adopt for details.
If you are a rescue interested in pulling this animal, please email our lifesaving team, or visit here if you are not currently a rescue partner: https://acctphilly.org/acct-philly-love-local-partnership-program/
Confirmed placement is considered a confirmation of an actual rescue pull. Possible placement, interested parties, and other "TBD" statuses are not considered confirmed and do not indicate an animal is no longer urgent.
All animals at ACCT Philly are from Philadelphia, as the only open-intake animal shelter in Philadelphia, we are not able to accept animals from outside of Philadelphia. ACCT Philly's Pennsylvania kennel license number is 08313.
