River

River came to us 6 weeks ago as an extremely underweight young Dalmatian after spending his life chained outside without enough food or socialization. Since then, this sweet boy has gained 10 lbs on a careful refeeding schedule and is finally feeling well enough to start looking for his forever family. 🖤🤍 He is a young male Dalmatian, medium size, expected around 45 lbs once fully filled out. River is a sweet, people-loving boy despite his rough past. He is crate trained in foster care and is learning house training. He does well on a cable or in a fenced yard. River knows "sit" and is learning patience. He loves dog beds and has not really learned how to play with toys yet because survival and food were always his focus.

Ideal Home

Because of his food behaviors, we do not feel a home with toddlers or very young children is the best fit, as food in little hands could be too tempting for him. He has seen young children through a gate in foster care and otherwise seemed perfectly fine with them. We do not yet know how River feels about cats.

Ongoing Health

River is Lyme positive, which is being treated and is NOT contagious. He is heartworm negative, vaccinated, on monthly preventatives, and will be neutered and microchipped before adoption. Because Dalmatians are prone to urinary stones, River is currently on a prescription urinary care food. At this time we do not know if this will be lifelong or temporary. A 27 lb bag costs approximately $140, so we want adopters to carefully consider this financial commitment before applying. We will send his current open bag and a brand new bag home with him, but it will likely only last 4-6 weeks. River came to us starving, and while his body is healing, his mind still believes food may disappear at any moment. He currently needs slow feeder bowls or feeder balls, searches counters and trash cans for food, should be fed separately from other pets initially, and may need lifelong feeding management.

Training & Support

River is crate trained and is learning house training. He knows "sit" and is learning patience. He has not really learned how to play with toys yet. He occasionally had accidents when left loose, but overall did very well. He also rode in the car crated, which he wasn't thrilled about, but handled appropriately. After a lifetime of neglect, River still loves people and wants connection. He simply needs a patient family willing to teach him how to be a dog and continue showing him that he never has to worry about food or safety again. With reward-based training, patience, and consistency, we believe River has the potential to become an incredible companion. ❤️

Application Details:

• Applications start by contacting us through Wags.

Transportation

River is located at 9331 State Route 124 Hillsboro, OH. We are open Monday through Friday 12-5 pm and Saturday 11-3 pm. Our adoption is open and easy, please come to the shelter to meet the animals in person to adopt.