This past weekend we picked up a foster dog from ACCT. Our criteria for a foster pup was that she had to be cat friendly and gentle with nervous dogs. (We have two nervous pups at home.) Immediately, Queenie stole my heart. She was a nervous wreck at the shelter and was not “showing well.” When we did our cat test she wouldn’t even make eye contact with me – she was so frantic and nervous about her surroundings. After our dog meeting (ACCT requires foster families to bring household dogs) we knew she’d do fine with our two mutts. We filled out the necessary paperwork to become a foster family and took her (and our pups) directly to the Wissahickon to go for a hike/swim (and shake off some of those shelter-nerves.) She loved every minute of it. She actually jumped right in the creek and started swimming immediately. (On-leash of course, which meant I went in the creek too!)
When we got her home, we gave her a quick bath, she sniffed the entire home, and then almost immediately fell into a deep sleep. She’s one of those dogs that looks up at us with insanely grateful eyes. It’s as if she KNOWS she has it good now and she’s not taking it for granted. This shy and shut-down dog (at the shelter) has blossomed into a wonderful family dog in less than 48 hours. She’s taking cues from our other dogs about how to act and she’s very well mannered in everyday situations. She knows not to beg, she knows when it’s time to be calm, and she’s starting to understand normal dog language like, “Wanna go for a walk” and, “Food?” We’ve had staff, friends and neighbors over to visit and she’s getting more and more confidence as the hours tick by.
More about Miss Queenie:
Dogs: She is dog friendly. She LOVES to play but is really good about reading cues from other dogs about what is appropriate and inappropriate. When she wants to play with our dog, Lola, she’ll do a polite play bow or roll onto her back to see if Lola is game, and if she’s not, she’ll move on. She still seems to be very excited to see dogs on-leash, but we do not believe she was walked much at her previous homes. We’ve just been keeping interactions positive. Again, she’s good at reading cues from other dogs so walking with our own dogs has been very helpful.
Cats: She is cat friendly, but is very interested in our cat. She’s not one of those dogs that will ignore a household cat. If there is a cat in her future forever home, he/she would have to be comfortable with clumsy dogs who might pounce occasionally. Thankfully, our cat grew up with big, slobbery dogs so knows how to handle the canines.
Her Personality: She is a pure sweetie. She aims to please and like I said before, she looks at us with the most grateful eyes constantly. While you never know what exactly a rescue dog went through prior to being saved, you can tell that she is honestly thrilled with her new life. She “sits pretty” often – without prompting, she’ll just sit and look up at you with these eyes that say, “You think I’m cute, right?” As if she knows how gorgeous she is and she just wants to be by your side. While in the house, she’ll have little bursts of energy then is keen to spend most of the day napping. We’ve been crating her at night (her crate is in our bedroom) and she sleeps like a champ until we start stirring in the morning. (Dogs like to know that their crates are near their humans, so we thought this would be the best place for her.) We’ve been practicing short “alone” crate sessions (with stuffed Kongs) to get her used to the crate when no one is home. She’s doing well. Queenie likes to be in the same room as us, but doesn’t constantly need to be on top of us. (She definitely follows us from room to room so we don’t forget about her!) In my humble opinion – she has the perfect amount of energy for a dog. She’s spunky enough to be a fun dog for an active family, but isn’t tearing through our house constantly. A run, a few good walks, or a long play session each day should give this girl the energy outlet she needs and then she just naps. In that regard – she’s your typical dog. 
Running / Leash Exercise: Queenie was getting over a mild case of kennel cough when we snagged her (no meds needed) so we didn’t run her for the first two days. I’ve taken her for a short run, and like most dogs who are new to running, she runs REALLY fast (or tries to) for the first few blocks and then settles into a nice, quick pace by my side. I think after a few weeks of regular runs, she’ll realize there is no reason to start out so fast. We all have to learn about pace, right? We’ve been using a martingale on her for runs and a Gentle Leader for walking. The GL has been SO helpful with teaching her proper leash-manners. I get the firm feeling that she didn’t get out much in her past households, so our first few walks seemed like they might be most exciting thing she’s ever done. (A bit of mental overload.) Now that she’s getting into a routine, walks are still exciting for her, but she’s much calmer on-leash. She’ll still need manners reinforcement on leash, but we’ll be happy to work with adopters to teach what we’ve done with her. (She’s infinitely better than she was 48 hours ago and we can actually walk with a slack leash for a good portion of our walks now! In a few weeks, I think she’ll be a champ. She’s really in-tune to positive reinforcement so a simple, “Good Girl Queenie!” when she’s walking calmly by our side goes a VERY long way with her.)
Human Socialization: Her intake papers say she is good with children, though ACCT would require all family members to come visit her prior to adoption. We don’t see any reason why she wouldn’t be great with kids. We’ve made a point to have LOTS of visitors in the house since we brought her home and she’s calm, but happy to meet new friends. (She’s a bit shy on-leash, but that’s not uncommon.) With us, she’s a doll. She has not shown any resource guarding and we’re able to pet her and pick up her food bowls while she’s eating.
Health: She’s a bit underweight, but that’s easy to fix! She weighs in at 40lbs, but she should probably be around 50lbs. Fattening up dogs is oh so fun! Right now her skin is dry/flaky which could be due to crappy dog food and/or stress. She was only with her previous family for three months so we think she was bumped around a bit. We’ve seen an improvement in 48 hours of rest, comfort and good food so we’re hopeful it will clear on it’s own. She’s 1-2 years old, has BRIGHT white teeth and has been given a clear bill of health. She’s up-to-date on shots and will be spayed and microchipped before adoption.
Training: She knows basic commands: Sit, down and we’re working on “Stay” and recall (indoors). She’s VERY easy to train and constantly wants to please humans so she’ll look at you as if to say, “Is this OK?” and “Did I do the right thing?’ As we noted before, we’re working on leash-skills with her and she’s picking up on it very quickly!
All up – I think Queenie would make a wonderful running companion and best friend. If you’d like to meet her, please contact us. All adopters will need to complete the adoption process and application at ACCT. (We’ll go with you!)
About ACCT (From their website): The Animal Care & Control Team of Philadelphia (ACCT Philly) is the region’s largest animal care and control service provider. ACCT Philly is an independent, 501c3 nonprofit organization, contracted by the City of Philadelphia to provide animal control services. Our animal control officers provide service over 142.6 square miles to the city’s more than 1.5 million residents and ACCT Philly’s facility in North Philadelphia handles more than 32,000 of the city’s animals, from dogs and cats, to small animals, reptiles, birds and wildlife, annually.
In addition to animal control and sheltering, ACCT Philly is open 365 days a year for pet adoptions. ACCT Philly also supports a foster care program where community members provide temporary homes for sheltered animals and one of the (if not THE) most extensive rescue partnership program in the country where approved rescue partners accept ACCT Philly animals into their adoption programs. Under contract ACCT Philly’s Animal Control Officers provide animal control services and code enforcement. Other exciting ACCT Philly programs include a food pantry for low-income pet owners, a vibrant volunteer program, trap-neuter-return for community cats, a unique Pen Pal program to assist dogs at risk … and so much more!
Her Animal ID at ACCT is: A20355836
