Charlie Chockie

One of our ARF foster homes just had a breakthrough day with Charlie (formerly known as Chockie). Charlie is one of those dogs that just did not do well in a shelter environment. He didn't like the cage, the barking, etc. and he would not come out or let anyone handle him. He would just stand still and refuse to budge. Still, there was something about him that had a sweetness to him, and the public shelter asked ARF if there was any way to help. More and more dogs were being turned in to the shelter, and Charlie was literally going to be euthanized in a few minutes if he didn't get out of the shelter. We hadn't planned on pulling an extra dog from the shelter that day but our volunteer made it happen and we got Charlie out. He was traumatized from his time in the shelter, and he just cowered for about two days at his ARF foster home. Then, all of the sudden, he must have realized that he's safe now and this amazing dog emerged! Charlie is now wagging his tail, licking his foster dad's hand, going for walks and even getting hugs from his ARF foster dad. What a transformation, and it just goes to show that some dogs that seem one way in a loud, scary shelter might be completely different in a foster or adoptive home. Charlie really is the sweetie we thought him to be. Charlie is a small to medium sized dog, about 25 pounds, who looks like a mix of chihuahua and shepherd. He's got the shape of a chihuahua and the coloring of a shepherd. He's a cutie. It seems from the information we got from the shelter that he came from a rough neighborhood and was probably kept outside all the time. He likes to be the boss (like many chihuahuas), but strangely enough he's supposed to be great with cats. Who knew? He's been around other dogs and does fine with them. We wouldn't recommend Charlie with young kids just yet because he was so scared when we first pulled him from the shelter. He'd do best in a home that is very nurturing and let's him come out of his shell. Patience will be rewarded with a lot of love as our foster dad learned. Charlie is about 6 years old, and he's getting neutered through ARF while in foster care. He's living in a foster home that gives him lots of praise and training, and he's doing great with housetraining and obedience. He's a sassy little guy and we love having him around. You can help ARF pay for Charlie's care and boarding by making a donation to ARF at www.arfsepa.com. If you're interested in meeting Charlie, please send an email to our Petfinder coordiator at [email protected] and we'll send you out a brief application to start the process. Please be sure to visit our homepage here at Petfinder to read our adoption requirements, and don't forget to visit our website at www.arfsepa.com to learn about the great work done by ARF volunteers each and every day. Thank you for thinking rescue first and please do what you can to help homeless pets!