George Swoony is a fantastic 1-½ year old yellow lab mix (boy) who is on the small side weighing in at only 35 pounds. George came to TAPS in late September from a shelter in Tennessee and before that, came from a hoarding situation. When he arrived at TAPS he had a horrible skin infection which made George loose his hair, but he has since been treated and his hair is growing back wonderfully! George has adapted well to his new environment at the shelter and has settled in nicely; for the most part, he is quiet, calm, keeps a clean kennel, waits to go potty outside in the morning, and is not dog reactive.
When I first selected George to come home with me, he was very excited to get out of his kennel; but it became apparent that George has not had many car rides and that getting into a car is frightening for him (both leaving and returning to the shelter). George needs assistance getting into a car so any potential adopter will need to be patient with this. At first, George was uneasy about the car ride, but quickly found comfort in a human lap and was quiet for the entire ride and eventually fell asleep.
Once I arrived at my home, George responded to “let’s go outside” as he quickly did his business and instantly returned to the backdoor so he could come inside; he is obviously familiar with this routine. Once inside, he thoroughly explored my home and settled in for a nap in front of the fireplace. Oddly, George is quite calm and mellow for his tender age and breed, but I am sure he will come out of his shell once adopted and has time to acclimate to his new surroundings. I gave George a stuffed animal to play with and, unlike most dogs who want to rip out their inner stuffing, he simply wanted to carry the stuffed toy around the house and proudly prance with his newly found treasure.
Although there is no background information on George, I believe he will make a great family pet for virtually any family. So far, TAPS has not witnessed any bad behavior that would warrant any restrictions on his applicants as George appears to be a well-rounded, well-behaved dog who would love to have a family to call his own.
