**EXTENDED**
** $1294.00 in pledges for the rescue that pulls **
** Interested foster through rescue **
** New videos & Notes (11/23) **
Roomy ACCT-A-180398 is currently considered urgent and at risk of euthanasia due to behavioral concerns. Roomy must have confirmed placement with a RESCUE PARTNER by SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 23RD at 10AM. Should Roomy’s medical or behavioral status change, his urgency and timeline for placement may also change.
Roomy was found tied up at a recreation center, along with another dog, on November 11th. The police who brought them in reported that they were both very friendly. However, since arriving at the shelter, Roomy has shown significant signs of fear and anxiety. He is extremely nervous about handling and walking on leash, often freezing or pulling away, and requires patience and coaxing to move. Roomy has been very shut down, avoiding interaction, and showing signs of stress such as lip licking, hard staring, and flinching away from touch. He needs a calm, quiet environment with someone who can take things slowly, allowing him time to decompress and build trust. Due to these behavioral concerns, Roomy is urgently seeking placement with a rescue partner.
BEHAVIOR:
Per volunteer 11/23:
I spent more time with a roomy tonight, he’s making baby steps of progress, but he’s moving in the right direction. the adjustment to his meds and the move of his kennel has helped a lot! Previously it took time for him to work up to licking peanut butter off of my fingers today in the first 15/20 Seconds, he licked the peanut butter right off my fingers. He kept inching closer to me to meet where my fingers were and every time there was a bark or a noise. It didn’t stop him. Previously every time a dog barked or there was a sudden noise in the shelter, revert back into the corner and we would have to start from the beginning. Tonight he did not require starting over from the beginning, and was able to pick up where we left off once hearing noise. Many times he did not even react and was so focused on me and peanut butter that he did not react to the sound in his environment by presenting one finger at a time, then progressed to multiple fingers, then progressed to flipping my hand. Previously, simply turning my hand over, would make him pull back, but tonight he did not mind at all. I introduced my other hand and after the first try , he easily went from licking my left hand to my right hand with no hesitation. I then began flipping my hands more repeatedly while he was licking and he did not pull back. I then introduced my hands at different levels at first he was confused, but after the first time of me offering peanut butter a bit higher up , he proceeded to follow wherever my hand was no matter the location. Once he seemed comfortable with licking peanut butter off my fingers in any location and any hand position, after he finished licking, I tried to gently pet his leg on the way down I tried this few times as well as gently petting his paw. He seems to have some buildup in his fingernails on all paws, it looks like black buildup in the toenail beds. He followed my hands, watching what I was doing, but out of curiosity. He started to be unsure with the pets so I stopped for today as we had already made lots of progress compared to the last time I spent time with him on Wednesday , the most exciting piece of progress from tonight was Roomy let me take his blanket and move it back onto his bed and he didn’t back away. He didn’t move away or get up and walk into the corner like previous days, he simply watched what I was doing and observed I continued to do this, and he continued to seem unbothered. I then went back to giving him peanut butter as a reward for letting me move his blanket and adjust his blanket around him, which he enjoyed once I paused for a minute to give him a bit of a rest, he went and started to nest a bit with the blanket on his bed and then laid down. Once I brought the bulb back out from underneath his bed and put more peanut butter in it he was very entertained by licking that, and it even fell off his bed and he didn’t jump or get startled with the sound of the bowl falling off his bed. He looked around for a second and then went back to following the bowl, he was pretty extended on his side which was new! he usually remains on his stomach curled in a ball. His head was extended and he was licking upside down off of his bed. It was really cute lol I closed the front of his kennel and walked around and Open the backside of his kennel instead, so that I could quickly pick up the poop. He watched me open his kennel door, but did not back up or go into a corner. He simply watched an eventually once he saw what I was doing, which was just picking and wiping up the poop he went right back to licking his lick mat. This is a first as he would not allow himself to engage with anything else besides what the other person was doing. As I was writing his notes on his walk sheet, I noticed the dog in the kennel to the left of him. I have not worked with the other dog yet, but the way he was presenting in his kennel compared to Roomy in his kennel seemed very, very similar. I have videos of my entire time with Roomy tonight, but they are too long to upload or share via email. I have full videos but can send over short clips in a separate email. I don’t want to upload them to YouTube as it’s not something that I think is ready to be on his profile. I’d like some opinions of the content, if I should upload it and make it public or not, but I did include some clips of the videos to get a sense of what I am describing . I know there are many factors that go into decisions of time, but from my understanding he was given a timestamp due to behavior because he was not making any progress and the stress of being in the kennel was taking over his well-being. I feel very hopeful that is a significant step in the right direction and being in TTA, as well as the adjustment to his meds, I strongly feel that he is not suffering in his kennel any longer. If there is any chance for a reconsideration for his behavior timestamp, please let me know if there’s anything I can provide or do to help make that happen.
NEW!
Per volunteer 11/21:
Roomy was moved to TTA to hopefully help with his nervousness in the shelter. When he was moved, he was walking around his new kennel, ate treats as soon as I put them in his kennel, and his tail was wagging! This boy is capable of coming out of his shell, he just needs time! Time in a quiet safe environment, and consistent gentle interaction with a trusting human and this boy will thrive. He also LOVES peanut butter. I spent time with him 11/19 and 11/20. On 11/19 he was taking treats with some hesitation, and then eventually licking the peanut butter directly off my fingers! This boy is scared and nervous, he did not growl, or show any signs of aggression or defensiveness either day I was with him. He is just scared. I did not attempt to take him outside as he seems much more comfortable in his kennel.
Per staff 11/18: Roomy was curled up on his bed when I went to take him out today. He gave me a little growl and then began to whine when I placed the leash over his head. He needed coaxing to exit the kennel and much like yesterday he did not want to walk on leash and needed spurts of leash pressure. We brought him to my office to see if he would warm up at all, as outside is too overwhelming for him. He remained very frozen in my office, uninterested in treats or any interaction. He allowed very light handling in brief spurts but would hard stare, lip lick, and flinch away from being touched. He appeared very uncomfortable at this time and shut down. He would benefit from a rescue partner who can take things very slow with him and allow him space to decompress and warm up in his own time.
Per staff 11/17: Took Roomy out today for the volunteer training. Exiting kennel, Roomy was very nervous and he was reluctant to walk on leash outside, pausing often and refusing to move. When Becca tried to loop his belly with the leash to help him move more he did swing around and snapped at her and the leash. She dropped it and he started to move on his own again, needing small spurts of leash pressure. In the yard Roomy remained very avoidant and nervous. He did not have any desire to interact with anyone and was very "frozen" and stoic. He gave lots of signals he was uncomfortable in the yard and allowed minimal handling. When touching him he would flinch and move away and would watch my movements closely.
Per staff 11/17: Didn’t make it far, does not like walking, too scared.
Per staff 11/15: Does not like to walk, scared.
11/12 BEHAVIOR EVALUATION:
KNOWN HISTORY:
Stray - police pick up
KENNEL PRESENTATION:
Roomy was curled up on his bed in the back of his kennel. He looked at the handler with wide, fearful eyes and started trembling when showed the leash. When the handler reached in with the leash he came forward slowly and allowed for easy leashing. He came right out once secured.
LEASH SKILLS:
Pulled minimally, very fearful on leash
HANDLING:
When Roomy first entered the room he was fearful and nervous. He kept a few feet away from the handlers, but did come forward to take a treat gently. He was nervous of handling but was tolerant. He would give whale eye when reached over, but never escalated. He really needs a slow approach, and would benefit from a calm environment to decompress in. Overall, Roomy is a lot more scared than his sister but he is trying his best to be brave.
PLAY:
Too fearful
TOYS:
Brief interest, too fearful
MEDICAL:
NEW!
Per an exam on 11/19: "Recheck for trazodone extension, check weight. Roomy has significant fear/anxiety and need to be on behavior modification drugs. Was previously on trazodone but was changed to clonidine and gabapentin yesterday. Brief visual assessment - would not come out of cage, head and ears lowered, continually staring us. Ok to continue these medications as prescribed."
NEW!
Per an exam on 11/19: "Several employees/volunteers noted concern for weird stance or issue with shoulders?? Unable to get out of cage, visual exam performed. Right shoulder appears to be significantly abducted away from body, left side does seem to be slightly abducted as well. Would not come out of cage - head lowered, ears down, staring.
On 11/12, Roomy received a vet exam for his behavior as well as being underweight. He was prescribed a course of trazodone to help with his adjustment to the shelter. His emaciated condition could be caused by malnourishment, intestinal parasites, or a metabolic issue.
During his intake exam on 11/11, Roomy’s eyes, nose, and ears were clear. He had some tarter and staining on his teeth and he had no fleas but his coat had some dandruff. He was bright, alert, and responsive.
VIDEOS:
NEW
+Roomy in his kennel: https://youtube.com/shorts/Ea5WZqt5DSI?feature=share
NEW
+Roomy licking peanut butter off fingers: https://youtube.com/shorts/iuWEf5iyRg4
+Roomy making some progress:
https://youtube.com/shorts/mqCtetbvmF8?si=RFQkhQxj6twCkEA3
+ A snack for Roomy:
https://youtube.com/shorts/b7HOy2IkM90?feature=shared
+ Sushi and Roomy meet:
https://youtube.com/shorts/69D8TpqAkK0?feature=share
+ NEW! Roomy in the yard
https://youtube.com/shorts/w5OgcIEN7sU?feature=shared
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.
