RUFUS HAS BEEN ADOPTED
By Linda Elward
Rufus is a 2-½ year old, 46-pound male, hound mix who arrived at TAPS in June of this year from a shelter in Texas. In his kennel he is very barky and zooms in circles to try to get your attention – he still has lots of puppy energy! Although, Rufus can act like a grownup too because he likes to keep his kennel clean, walks well on a leash and is very much the gentleman on his walks. But once you get him in a car, he becomes uncertain of what a “ride” means and became noticeably quiet and did not sit down the entire ride. This is not uncommon especially since a “ride” to a shelter dog often means a change in environment.
Once at my house, I witnessed an extremely happy, playful dog who – as with any hound – immersed himself in the new smells of my yard and enjoyed exploring the fence line. Once he thoroughly investigated my yard, his puppy side emerged and I learned very quickly that he can jump as high as me, and can be very mouthy, yet he listened extremely well and was easy to redirect with a proper chew toy versus my arm. Overall, Rufus appears to be an overgrown puppy who will need training. He does not know even basic commands, but was eager to listen to me and appeared to want to please me.
He loved playing with all of my dog toys and any potential adopter should have plenty of appropriate toys for him or he will chew on things that he should not; yet he quieted down considerably once he was given a rawhide. In fact, he became a much calmer dog and began to show the signs of an independent dog who simply wanted to be left alone to eat his bone – but he seemed uncertain if I would take the bone away from him so potential adopters should be mindful of this. I believe Rufus will be a good fit for most homes so long as he has a proper outlet to exercise and guidance through his puppy years. Rufus is also good with other dogs but does play rough, and, oddly, is scared of cats.
Visit our website at www.tapsshelter.org to view our other available dogs and cats and fill out an adoption form here!
