Health Condition:

Chickadee is healthy and ready for adoption 👍

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Physical Description:  

Chicka is slightly smaller than average for a female. She has a pretty blue and white coat and delightful smiling eyes. 

 

Current Living Situation:  

Chickadee arrived to MPR shelter completely frightened of everything, especially men. She was afraid to come out of her kennel and to go through doors. Even the floor inside scared her. She felt more secure outside, but was very curious about coming inside. Everything was new to her and terrifying her.  

 

Chickadee is now fostered in a home with two adults and two dogs - an older male pit and a 5 to 6-year-old female pit. She spends most of her day loose in a spare bedroom. Chicka is treated like the queen she is and gets to sleep on the queen-sized bed all by herself at night. She has not had any accidents inside the home and has supervised access to the fenced yard to do her business. A slow introduction with the male pit is in progress. 

 

Personality:   

Anxious sometimes, but happy most of the time. Chicka does well by herself as long as she's in a safe place, but she'd rather be right next to the humans she trusts. And once she trusts you, she loves you completely.

 

She's skeptical about men (see below), but willing to give them a chance. 

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Chicka's level of energy is medium/high. She absolutely loves to do zoomies and is totally hilarious about it. It's as if she was never given a chance to have fun before and she's now soooo happy to be happy. To watch her enjoying herself with a huge smile on her face will brighten anyone's day. She just needs a little bit of time to know that she is safe and to learn the routine. She is a dog of habits and needs a moment to decompress after a big change in her life. 

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Update from foster parents: Chicka has built up her confidence at their house. Her anxiety is improving, but she tends to get a little worked up around mealtime. She's described as a "hangry" girl and gets vocal when it's time to eat. She is getting more comfortable every day and can now totally relax in the living room with foster parents (while the other dogs in the home are put away).

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Behavior with people: 

This cutie-pie came to us scared of everything and very conflicted about people, especially men. Deep inside it was obvious that she wanted to make friends, but she might have met her share of unsavory individuals before her rescue. She just didn't trust anyone and was so terrified of our male volunteers that they were very heartbroken. So they decided to team-up to help her get over her fear of men and it worked! 

 

Our male volunteers spent extra time with her, teaching her that men can be nice too, and be trusted. They took her to special training classes to help build her confidence. The environment ended up being too much for Chickadee, but overall she is doing soooo much better from when she first came to MPR. In fact, she was voted "most improved!" 😀

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Generally speaking, she's still a timid girl, but foster parents have seen improvement. After a few weeks in their care, she started to get more comfortable with both foster mom and dad.  

 

Behavior with children:  

Unknown. Chickadee has not been around kids since being with us. We think she is most afraid of people with a threatening appearance, so we hope that she might actually enjoy kids, but we can't say for sure. She might be uneasy around uncoordinated toddlers or big rambunctious kids. We believe she would do better in a home with adults, but will not rule out a family with gentle and respectful older children.

 

Behavior with other dogs:  

She was not reactive at the shelter and did very well during training classes with other dogs in her proximity. At her foster home there have been a few interactions with the male dog and for the most part, foster parents say she's been relatively indifferent about him. It is possible that a home with a compatible male would actually help Chickadee's confidence.

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Behavior with other animals:  

Unknown. 

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Training: 

She has mastered "sit" and a few other commands. It actually seems like doing obedience training helps her focus on commands instead of her fears. She's smart and loves to show what she knows. Agility, or a similar sport, might be a fun thing to try with her to help her continue her progression with self confidence. 

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Foster parents say that she is treat-motivated to learn and is easily redirected. They have not had much success getting her to go for a walk of any substantial length yet, but she's been taking laps around the house and is certainly making progress.

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Additional Info:

You can't help but smile when you're around Chickadee because she's always smiling! You can tell she's so grateful to be saved. She's playful, funny, and a perfect sized pittie. SUPER smart and SUPER eager to learn and listen. She has so much potential. She just needs to find the right person that will agree to work with her and give her the time she needs. 

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Foster parents say potential adopters need to understand that this girl is project. It will take time and effort for Chicka to get comfortable, but she is making progress and is so worth it! "Despite not knowing what her past was like, she's presumably been through a tough life. Her resiliency and willingness to trust us despite her background is really incredible. While it takes her some time to get comfortable and confident, once she does, she's very sweet and affectionate."

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Even if you can’t adopt this sweetheart, you can still help by donating for their care.