Avery - In Foster Care

Name: Avery

Age: 5 years

Breed: Hound/Shepherd Mix

Sex: Male (altered)

Location: Southern NH

Vet Info: Avery is confirmed neutered and heartworm negative.  He is up to date on vaccines and is next due for his rabies vaccine on 6/5/16.  Avery weighs 35 pounds.

Owner Info: DOB around January 2010. Avery is a very handsome fellow whose owners had twins last summer and are overwhelmed caring for them and working full-time without any family in the area.  They feel they can no longer give Avery the time, love, and attention he deserves and they've made the difficult decision to reach out to rescue. Their families are unable to take him. Avery has no vision in one eye and very limited vision in the other. His owners were told it's a genetic condition that requires no medication or further intervention, and that he would go completely blind.  They write that "that may be the case at this point, although at times you would never know. He seems to be able to see shadows and navigates well for his level of blindness!"  Other than that, they tell us that Avery has been in great health.  Avery is an indoor dog with run of the house, he is housebroken and leash trained.  Avery knows the commands Sit, Wait, and Come!  He is good with people of all ages, male and female dogs, and cats, and currently lives with a male border collie.  His owners write, "Avery is a little uneasy when he first meets other dogs (he sometimes growls but has never been aggressive) but warms up quickly. He's only been around cats a few times years ago and there were no issues."  Avery can be possessive of treats, and his owners gave us more details: "Avery sometimes snarls when we give him a treat and our other dog gets too close. He has never been vicious though and this has only happened a few times. Because of his blindness he startles and sometimes barks when his back end is touched unexpectedly.... He's never bitten anyone and he's been great with our two nine month old daughters. ....He has snapped at our other dog if he gets too close to his food (a concern of ours for when our girls start to walk)." His owners also wanted us to know, "A couple more things to know about Avery which I didn't mention on the form. He had a lot of anxiety and much of stems from going in and out the door. I'm not sure if this is because he's blind, but he gets very worked up about it and will bark and pace. I think I wrote that he's a creature of habit so most of it happens around breakfast time, dinner, and last thing at night." Avery's owners feel he adapts well to new situations and would do well in a home with another dog.  They tell us he's incredibly loving and outgoing around strangers and wants to be a lap dog!  

Update 4/13/15:  Avery's owners have tried their best, but they write that they are completely overwhelmed with Avery's needs and know they aren't the right family for him. They will be surrendering him to the humane society on Wednesday, 4/15/15.