Joy ACCT-A-210541 is currently considered urgent and at risk of euthanasia due to behavioral concerns . Joy must have confirmed placement with a RESCUE PARTNER or EXPERIENCED ADOPTER by THURSDAY, JANUARY 9TH at 10AM. Should Joy’s medical or behavioral status change, her urgency and timeline for placement may also change.
Joy arrived at the shelter as a stray on January 4th, after being found the night before with another dog. The finder said she was good on leash and friendly. At the shelter, Joy has shown us that she is a playful and goofy dog with puppy-like energy. She has allowed all handling but was sensitive about having her teeth examined and can be snatchy with food. She shows some resource guarding behaviors with food, such as baring her teeth, growling, and snapping, though she does accept trades and will back away, which indicates potential for progress with training and management. Given her food motivation, Joy is likely to excel in training and could thrive in agility or other dog sports. Joy is looking for a home where she can be the center of attention as the only pet — she'll thrive in an environment where she can be your one and only companion! She is also looking for a home without children. Due to her behavioral concerns, Joy is urgently seeking placement with a rescue partner or experienced adopter.
VIDEOS:
Joy and Henderson Fence Meet: https://youtube.com/shorts/YpbOJQLGjHk?feature=share
Joy and Henderson Dog Meet: https://youtube.com/shorts/5F6D8IYgSlQ?feature=share
Videos of her guarding behaviors and bad dog meet are available upon request.
BEHAVIOR:
Per staff 1/6: Did a walkalong with Joy and Henderson outside. Joy was initially reactive at the fence again and was very fixated on Henderson. Through the fence though once she was able to reach Henderson she calmed down but remained fixated. She quickly got frustrated and began to snap at him. We then did a walkalong for several minutes. She calmed down as time went on and was able to sniff Henderson without escalation and they were even able to have a successful face meet! Would not recommend that Joy go to a multi dog home due to the fixation, arousal, and guarding but she can successfully coexist around another without incident.
Per staff 1/6: Tried to attempt a dog meet today with Joy. Upon seeing the other dog Joy began to scream and pull heavily towards the other dog with hard fixated eye contact. As she got closer she would start to raise her lip and would continuously snap in the air fixated on reaching the other dog. Her body language was very concerning and indicated if she reached the other dog she would likely start a dog fight. The other dog remained very loose and wiggly, not engaging or escalating in return. Joy did not calm down and was pulling so hard to get to the other dog that her tongue was turning purple. Ended meet due to safety concerns for the other dog.
Per staff 1/6: Brought Joy out for some activity time again today. She was very wiggly in the room with us and had lots of energy, bouncing around. She had a lot of energy and zoomed around the room playing independently and would come up to us every once and awhile tot get attention and pets. In regards to guarding she displayed the same behavior as yesterday and did trades easily to back away from the item she is guarding.
Per staff 1/5: We tested Joy's food related resource guarding. When offered wet food she was not interested in first and focused on play with the handler. After eating some of the wet food, the handler used her hand and then a pointer to touch around the food to which she began hard staring, lip raising and baring teeth. The handler asked her to “leave it” and she would walk away with a wagging tail, she wouldn't come back unless she saw the food again or unfocused from the handler. She continued to eat the food and growled this time, snapping and grabbing the stick but once the handler told her “leave it” a couple times, walked away and removed herself from the food. With more time and some light training, resource guarding food could be put under control. Due to her not full attempts to react toward the handler and she was more focused on pleasing the handler.
1/5 BEHAVIOR EVALUATION:
KNOWN HISTORY:
Stray
KENNEL PRESENTATION:
In kennel Joy was curled up on her bed sleeping and when called perked her head up. She propped up when she saw the handler, wiggling, toe tapping, and darting back and forth with soft wide eyes in excitement. She was easy to leash and hopped out of the kennel eagerly.
LEASH SKILLS:
Pulls strongly
HANDLING :
In the room, Joy was super wiggly, excitable and had puppy-like energy. She is super goofy and goofy, a fun dog to run around with and play with. She allowed all handling and remained super wiggly. She sat patiently for treats but was super snatchy and liked everything in sight. She loves to run around, get cuddles and all over scratches. Due to her high food drive, she would do perfect for training and her high energy makes a great agility and active dog.
PLAY:
Super playful
TOYS:
Likes a squeaky toy but no possession
COLOR LEVEL & ANY RECOMMENDATIONS:
Experienced blue
Per staff 1/4: Would ask to beware and feed with door down then open seems to either guard food or very snatchy due to hunger per staff during intake. Please watch your fingers.
Per staff 1/4: Was snappy with staff when trying to exam teeth, will need to get microchip during surgery.
Per staff 1/4: Bright, alert, and responsive. Very hyper, lots of energy, snappy with fingers.
MEDICAL:
During her intake exam on 1/4, Joy’s eyes, ears, and nose were clean. She had some yellow staining on her teeth and missing fur on the back of her neck, but no other concerns.
Due to being significantly overcapacity with animals and higher than usual intake, extensions are unlikely to be granted. If you are interested in an animal please contact ACCT Philly immediately. Due to limited space, timestamps may also be proceeded with early so it is imperative to let us know if you are considering adopting or tagging an animal.
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.
