My name is Milhouse!

Thanks for your interest in a pet from A.R.F.! If you see a pet here, they are still available for adoption and you should apply through our adoption application on our website at  https://www.arf-il.org/adopt/application/  

Milhouse is a 17 month old male Great Dane who weighs in at 135 pounds.  This dog's adoption fee is $500.  If you are still interested, please read more below.

Milhouse's dad recently moved back home to his country in Eastern Europe and left him behind. Milhouse was just a bit to much dog for his human grandmom to handle and she reached out for ARF to assist in finding him a new home.  Milhouse is a large dog even by Great Dane standards.  He is currently 135 pounds, very tall, and could handle gaining another 10 or so pounds.  He does have that loud ferocious bark that all Great Danes have but that is all it is—just a bark.  His life to date has involved being crated for most of the day and all night.  He lived in, was fed, and watered in his crate.  Unless his human “dad” was home and awake, Milhouse was crated.  And since “dad” left to go back to his country, Milhouse has been crated all the time.  He can act reactively to people close to the crate to the extent that his foster mom thinks that if he were to bark—the top of the crate was banged on scaring him or even worse.  He hasn't really needed to be crated at all in his foster home (you can see the gate in the photos—he could jump it but he hasn’t tried to). His foster mom took the crate down after the first day.  He is so much happier without the crate.  The effect on his personality was immediate— he was so much happier, less worried and more relaxed/playful right away.  He enjoys access to run and play in his foster mom’s yard, walks well on a leash, and is well behaved in the house with a fabulously sweet, playful, and goofy  personality.   He doesn’t jump
on the furniture -though his foster mom is sure he could be coerced to do so by his forever family.

Milhouse would prefer to be the only dog in the house.  Even though he was housed for the first 17 months of his life crated next to another Great Dane the owner purchased, he doesn’t do well with other dogs—especially large/medium on up in size. He was curious about his foster moms small breed dog. But since that pup is only 6 pounds, his foster mom kept their interactions to minimum.

He can be suspicious of new people but if the new people are handed a couple treats to give out to him, in the matter of 15-30 minutes, he would be their best friend for life.  And the more he has settled into his foster home, he accepts new people faster and faster.

In spite of a not ideal h ome to start life in, Milhouse is a sweet and loving dog that would love a fenced yard, and a baby-gated area in the kitchen or mudroom rather than a crate until he is able to fully settle in to his new home's schedule and routine. Milhouse does seem housebroken when following the every 3+ hour schedule at his foster home for time to potty in the fenced in back yard.

Milhouse is microchipped, up to date on all vaccinations, and neutered.  This dog's family will be required to complete a basic obedience course of their choosing.  A meeting will not be scheduled until you have an approved application, so if you are interested in adopting this dog, fill out an Online Application today!  Once your application has been approved, an ARF volunteer will contact you to arrange a meeting.

Thank you for considering a rescue pet from A.R.F.-Animal Rescue Foundation! We are  based in Wheaton, IL and conduct adoption events in the DuPage County area. If you are interested in adopting one of our pets, please submit an adoption application at https://www.arf-il.org/adopt/application/ 

Adoption appointments are scheduled based on the order of applications received, so submit your application early! Submitting an application does not commit you to any animal but does get you a head start with the adoption approval process. Due to a high volume of applications, we are often unable to respond to questions or schedule meetings until your application has been approved. More information about our adoption process can be found on our website here: https://www.arf-il.org/adopt/

As an all-volunteer, foster home-based organization, A.R.F. Animal Rescue Foundation does not have a facility where applicants can visit our animals. Please visit https://www.arf-il.org/events/ for a list of our upcoming adoption events. 

Thank you for choosing to adopt, not shop!