Duffy 2

---

Update 02/14/2020: “Duffy was a peaceful senior who just wanted his world to be a calm, well-ordered place.”

Duffy 2 was a Springer wannabe who came to MAESSR more than a year ago with many health and emotional issues.  During his stay with his foster mom, he received needed medical treatment and learned to respond to the kindness he was being shown.  Duffy was a peaceful senior who just wanted his world to be a calm, well-ordered place.  Unfortunately, late last month, he developed bloat, and, in spite of the best efforts of his foster mom and her vet, did not survive the attack.  He will be greatly missed.

Be happy and healthy, sweet boy—we’ll listen for your good-night howl!

Update 10/20/2018: “This senior gent does not like to be bothered when eating (who does?) and doesn’t like conflict or angry tones.” 

Duffy is much happier now that his neutering and dental treatments are over.  He is a good dog, but continues to have his quirks.  He is most definitely hand-shy—always flinches when petted or if his foster mom even calmly reaches for his collar.  He also does not know how to take treats gently—possibly because of his compromised vision?  

This senior gent does not like to be bothered when eating (who does?) and doesn’t like conflict or angry tones.  But, although he may appear defensive at those times, he is not aggressive.  Duffy just wants his world to be a calm, well-ordered place.

Who knows what happened in Duffy’s background?  But now, he is in a safe foster home, receiving needed medical treatment and learning to respond appropriately to kindness.  Watch for further updates on this Springer wannabe.

Original:  “At night when things in the house are winding down, Duffy has a habit of putting his head back and letting out this semi-silent howl– so cute!”

Duffy came into a Pennsylvania shelter supposedly as a stray, but he was overweight and pretty clean for a stray. However he arrived there, Duffy had enough Springer in him that MAESSR took him into its care.  

The shelter vet determined Duffy to have congestive heart failure and put Duffy on Lasix and two other heart meds. Because of his heart, his foster mom got him to her vet ASAP for a thorough exam. Duffy was a bit nervous but was good for the vet. His teeth are bad and eventually dental work will be done. He needs to be neutered and his foster mom was concerned that a heart condition would prevent those procedures from happening. The vet closely listened to his heart, took X-rays, and did blood work; however, he said there was NO evidence of a heart condition! Yay! However, Duffy did test positive for Lyme and giardia and needed all his vaccines. Therefore his neuter and dental will be happening as soon as he completes his course of antibiotics for the Lyme.

Because he is intact, Duffy is OBSESSED with the girls in his foster home (all spayed) in particular Ms.Charley. When allowed free run of the house, Duffy promptly began marking in the house; therefore, he is relegated to an ex-pen until his hormones get under control. He does not mark in the ex-pen at least. Duffy does get along fine with the other males in the house and has shown mild interest in the resident cats.

Duffy’s past is unknown, but he is somewhat head shy. When reaching for his collar, he always flinches so his foster mom is particularly gentle and calm when reaching to him. When his foster mom had another new foster dog on the grooming table, Duffy walked under the table right where all the hair and fleas were raining down.  Keeping one hand on the new foster dog and the clippers running in the other, foster mom used her foot to gently push Duffy out of the “fallout zone.” To her surprise Duffy turned and grabbed her foot!  He didn’t grab hard and he immediately let go, but his foster mom was a bit surprised. He had never snapped at her or at the vet. Furthermore, he was good for his grooming, which included removing mats from his ears and pads of his feet. His nails were very long and he did let her grind them with no problems.

Another issue Duffy has is taking treats. His foster mom uses stinky canned cat food on a spoon for administering meds. She uses her finger to flick the blob into the dog’s mouth. Duffy grabbed that high value treat (and her finger!) and wasn’t about to let go! Even with just the spoon, he really grabs—not in a mean, possessive way, but just like he knows NO other way of how else to get it. She is not sure if his vision may also play a part in grabbing for treats. For now treats are placed on the floor. He will growl at another dog in this situation.

Duffy has met children through the fence, but because he is head shy and is terrible at taking treats, his foster mom would not trust him around children–not because he is mean.  She is hoping for improvement after his neuter and dental.

Duffy will pull on a leash and is always on the go looking for things to sniff and mark.  A trip to PetsMart was cut short because Duffy was marking the aisles.  Oops!  That neutering can’t happen soon enough!  He does ride quietly in the car, crated. Because of his short legs, he does need to be lifted into the car.

Generally, Duffy does not react to other dogs he meets with the exception of a bark fest that he had at the vet’s office.  A couple of big dogs must have looked at Duffy funny, because they all started barking.

Out in the fenced yard, Duffy is in constant motion, sniffing and wandering about. He will finally lie down after a couple of hours. The neighbors tell his foster mom that all is quiet when she goes to work.  When she is out of the house, Duffy is in the ex-pen inside of the house.  At night when things in the house are winding down, Duffy has a habit of putting his head back and letting out this semi-silent howl, so cute!

Because Duffy is intact, has to be in the ex-pen, and is obsessed with Ms. Charley, his foster mom feels she can’t give him a fair evaluation at this time. She’s hoping he will settled down and become more people oriented after he is neutered. He is an older guy with some issues.

Watch for updates on Duffy!