Entered: 03/29/2004
Status: Adopted
Age: 5
Color: black/white
Weight:
Gender: Altered Male
Location: Woodbridge, VA
Health: Good, HW-, UTD, being treated for a skin infection
Temperament: Excellent
Original:
Bentley was turned over to rescue because his elderly owners could no longer care for him. The couple’s adult children took him in, but tried to make him an “outside” dog. As a typical Springer, Bentley was not well-suited for this, and these people turned him in to the Williamsburg, VA shelter because he was too much for them.
He is a sweet boy who follows his foster mom everywhere. He is not intrusive, but likes to stay close. He is housetrained and, in general, is quite a gentleman. He does not counter surf, chew, or jump on his foster mom. However, he is very exuberant when his foster mom arrives home—running in circles and barking. He is not currently crate trained, but this is something his foster mom will work on.
Bentley currently has a severe skin infection and is being treated with antibiotics. The vet thinks that this may be due to diet or environmental allergies. His progress will be monitored over the next few weeks.
Bentley exhibits some fear when asked to go in the back yard by himself. Currently, his foster mom takes him for walks to do his business, but she is working with him to overcome his fear of the yard and he is showing progress.
He does not appear to know commands beyond sit and down and needs work walking on the leash. He would benefit from obedience training. These are also areas his foster mom will work on.
Bentley has met several neighborhood children and did well with the children over 8 y.o.; however toddlers appear to make him a bit nervous. This is something that will need close monitoring. His interactions with other dogs (he’s only met males so far) have been generally good. After an initial sniffing session, he has growled a bit, but it has not escalated to an altercation. His reaction to cats is unknown.
In general, he is very low key in the house, but happy to get outside and go for a romp in the field by his foster mom’s house. It appears that he has never had toys and is oblivious to the concept of fetch. It is quite entertaining to watch his mom trying to teach him that he’s the one that is supposed to go after the ball. The upside to this is that she’s getting quite a bit of exercise as she retrieves the ball!
Overall, he is a wonderful, sweet boy. Could you be the perfect match to teach Bentley to master the game of fetch?