Mack

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Mack has spent the last eight years of his ten-year life tied up outside his owner’s home in Erie, PA. When his owners became elderly and ill and they could no longer care for him, their son contacted MAESSR and relinquished him to rescue. This sweetheart of a Springer is so glad to be inside his foster home, safe and warm!

Mack is well-behaved and obviously was indoors at some point in his early life as he has excellent house manners with the exception of counter surfing! He will steal anything he can get to and he is very spry for his age. His foster family keeps their dogs in the kitchen and family room of their house and they are confined by a baby gate which they have never attempted to jump. Mack seemed to be of the same persuasion until his foster parents left Mack and the resident Springers alone on Christmas night for about four hours. Mack must have known that there were goodies in the living room so he jumped the baby gate, ate the contents of the dessert tray, and jumped back over the gate to get some water! When his foster folks returned, all of the dogs were back in their proper area and Mack gave them a look as if to say, “But I was hungry and you left cake in range of my nose!” 

Mack hasn’t shown any evidence of his age with the exception of his hearing. He either has very selective hearing or is losing the ability to hear normal sounds. He does react to his name when called but if he is distracted by something, he seems not to hear. He adapted very well to the two resident Springers and there have been no problems with sharing toys or food. They all eat out of each others’ bowls and Mack has shown no signs of food aggression. He does feel it is his right to have liverwurst in the morning and at night since one of the resident Springers gets some with his pills. Mack doesn’t care that he needs no pills; he wants the liverwurst anyway! He does wait patiently for his turn and seems to have adapted to being third in line for treats. 

Mack’s favorite spot is the huge dog couch that his foster dad made. He will sleep up on it along with a foster dog brother with no problem. He has not attempted to get on any other furniture. Mack initially did not play with toys very often, but he is playing more now as he gets comfortable with his new surroundings. His favorite toy is a large plastic bone which he loves to chew on. He has not shown any interest in tennis balls yet, but his foster parents are working on that. Mack sleeps upstairs in his foster mom and dad’s bedroom and loves to lie on a thick blanket for comfort. He will adjust his blanket to his liking for about five minutes and then he quickly settles down to sleep all night. His foster family has not needed to crate him at all since he is housetrained and a crate makes him very nervous. So, they have not pushed the issue with him. Mack did have two accidents, but his foster parents attribute that to their being unfamiliar with his signals. He does need to be walked out in the yard at night before bed or else he just goes out and comes right back in without doing his business. He does fine all day while his foster parents are at work. 

A very quiet boy, Mack has not yet barked at all. He does love a long belly rub and will sigh deeply to show his appreciation for the attention. He does great in the car, also. He settles down, rides beautifully, and may even fall asleep. Since Mack does not hear very well, his foster parents haven’t been able to get him to follow commands. He does stay pretty close to his foster mom wherever she goes and so it has not been difficult to get him to do anything she and his foster dad want. Mack does not like to be separated from his people when they are at home. He will scratch at a closed door to get to them or jump the baby gate. His foster parents haven’t had a lot of time to walk him on the leash since Mack has come to live with them, but now that the holidays are over, they will assess how Mack does on a leash walk. 

Mack is a gem waiting to be discovered by a loving family who will lavish the attention he so richly deserves!