Entered: 10/20/2017
Status: Adopted
Age: 3
Color: Liver/White
Weight: 44 lbs.
Gender: Altered Male
Location: Aston, PA
Health: UTD, HW-
Temperament: Good with adults, good when meeting children on walks, good with other dogs, would probably chase cats
Original: “His foster mom likes to think that Happy got his name from how he’ll sit on command and just grin in a goofy way when the two-footed folks are saying nice things about him.”
Happy was turned in at a western Pennsylvania shelter by his owner, probably due to being “active.” This love was stressed in the shelter environment and didn’t like having his ears or paws handled. The shelter folks agreed he would be best going to a MAESSR home for evaluation and to see how he behaved in a foster environment.
This wonderful new foster dog is completely housetrained, sleeps quietly all night in a crate, rarely barks, and is decent on leash. Happy will do “up periscope” to see things but keeps paws off the counter. He doesn’t get in the trash nor try to break into the food container. While he is initially very excited to see his humans when they return, he soon calms down. He rides well in a car and loves walks in public parks where he greets folks, especially those with dogs, with his best Springer grin. He’ll do brief visits to creeks but isn’t a big swimmer. He’s a decent running companion, but with the usual Springer “nose tracking” instead of keeping a straight route forward. He is a good boy!!
Happy’s only issue to date is that he doesn’t like to have his collar grabbed. He’ll grumble and show a bit of lip. But if his foster folks say, “Sit,” he’s fine with having a leash attached and then being directed to do whatever was being asked of him initially. The collar reaction only seems to be in stressful situations. If his mom is trying to get out the door quickly and grabs his collar to put him into his crate, he might react. But if just “sent” into his crate, he goes without complaint. This is just a behavior to be noted; it rarely happens.
MAESSR’s new handsome boy loves soft toys, especially his “Mr. Bill.” He’s not destructive with them and does not mind if the humans take them away. He’ll make soft “Wookie” type noise while mouthing the toy but releases it with a gentle mouth for the human to throw for him. He loves being brushed. After reading in the records that he didn’t like his ears touched in the shelter, his foster mom has been doing so on a daily basis, lifting and flopping the flaps and telling him what a good boy he is.
Bumping and rubbing with other dogs for pets? No problem for this guy. He also doesn’t mind being tethered for dinner (since he eats so quickly—no problem as he could stand to put on a few pounds). His foster folks haven’t tested him with loud noises and so are unsure if he’s suitable to be a hunting dog. But he seems intelligent, learns what is wanted from him quickly, relaxes nicely during the day while nothing much is going on, and is a handsome dude.
Happy is as Happy does, and this love is a wonderful Springer. His foster mom likes to think that Happy got his name from how he’ll sit on command and just grin in a goofy way when the two-footed folks are saying nice things about him. This youngster would be happy to grace your home for the holidays; he is truly a dog for “thanks giving.”