Goliath - At Shelter

Name:  Goliath

Breed:  Pit Mix

Age: 2 years

Sex: Male (neutered per owner, not confirmed)

Location: Southwest North Carolina

Vet Info: Yet to be verified.

Owner Info: "I got him from this nasty pound in my area, the whole place smells like dog crap, and they only keep the dogs for a week before they put them down. I called the humane society but they don't take pit bulls. So I rescued him. They told me he was dog aggressive, but didn't tell me he was blind. (Not that it mattered, but you think it would be something they would mention). I learned that he probably only has 5% of his sight. It was blatantly obvious that he had been fought or was used as a bait dog because he has various scars on his head and legs. At first I had a friend fostering him and he was on a runner with a dog house, unless it rained then they brought him inside and kept him in a spare bathroom. Unfortunately though, they lived in a neighborhood that has a lot of dogs that wander about and one day a dog wandered in the yard and started a fight with him. He got hurt, so I took him home. I've been keeping him in our mudroom for most of the winter, but now that it's gotten warmer I let him out on the runner for a while each day and always bring him back in at night. He's house trained though I doubt he would no to walk to a door if he needed to go out, he might if he got used to that, but I have him on a walking schedule, maybe every 3-4 hours and then he's fine over night, and he's done really well with that. He's a good walker, if you have him on a path or in a fenced in yard, once he has the layout he will rarely bump into anything, but he will at first. When your walking him, I've got him to where you can essentially steer him, pull left he'll go left, pull right and he'll go right, if he's fixed on something and not heeding your pulling then you can say "left" or "right" and he'll listen. My friend who was fostering him has an 19 month old daughter and they (very cautiously) introduced Goliath to her and he was so sweet! At most he would lick her like crazy, but he was always very gentle. My vet believes he's been blind since birth because he tends to like to jump on people, but he never so much as lifted a paw to that little girl! He was always very careful around her. He hasn't had any professional training. It's no excuse, but it's not something I can afford. I have taught him to sit and we're working on shake. He's really good on a leash unless he catches the scent of a cat or hears something like a bird, he then wants to charge after it, but if your strong and get him back on track he'll be ok. But you do need a good amount of strength. He weighs about 63 lbs. last time he was weighed. He's very attentive and loving. On rainy days I've been walking him and, from no fault of his, I've slipped and fell and he will immediately stop and come back and sniff like "Are you Ok?" He loves to be loved and loves to give it back. He's never really liked blankets unless they are covering a cushion for some odd reason, otherwise he'll tear them up. He's also been known to eat/chew up clothes out of the laundry. If you could just spread the word that he's in desperate need of a home I would greatly appreciate it. He recently got into a fight with my first pit bull Atlas, they're both ok, but my dad has only given me until this coming Thursday to find him a home or I'll have to put him to sleep. :( Please tell anyone whose interested that I will bring him to them! I'd like to do a home check. Thank you so much for your help!

Update 3/30/2013: "I did actually find a shelter in SC that's willing to take him, it'll give me more time to find him a forever home! I'm pretty happy about it! :) Actually the shelter in SC I just told you about does need me to buy a kennel for him so they can keep him for me. I'm not sure how expensive it is yet, but I'm willing to do it so he can have a nice place to stay until I find him a forever home! Thank you all so much!"