Athena

This little gal was found wandering around St. Cloud over the holidays. At first her finder thought she could be lost due to the fireworks, but then she noticed signs of possible abandonment or neglect. Firstly being that they kept her 2 days after finding & there were no reports being made for this lost dog on any local pages. "Athena" as she began calling her, has dry flaky skin & super dry brittle fur. Her hip bones were exposed and her head has moderate scabbing, as if she may have been outside (wandering or housed outdoors maybe) for quite a while. Her finder family worried about a possible skin condition causing hairloss but we recognized her naked back end to be a "lion cut" grooming job that appears to be done (somewhat recently) at home by an inexperienced groomer. Owners will often use this haircut to compensate for summer heat in FL, but this time of year (in the middle of cold fronts rolling thru) indicates the other common possibility, being that her back end was severely matted or the skin was highly irritated by fleas or allergens. Either way it is evident that somebody was recently caring for this dog. We scanned her for a microchip and there was none. Checked lost pet reports all over social media & found none matching her. Reported her as found & posted with the county shelter. Nobody has shown up looking for this poor baby. Its possible that she was dumped or even turned in as a "found" dog when she was actually being surrendered. They said that her nickname was Athena & she began responding in the 2 days they had her, but the dog seems suspiciously quite responsive to this name. If she was surrendered by an embarrassed family, we are grateful that she was brought somewhere safe instead of actually dumped on the streets! If she was found wandering around abandoned & oddly just responds to this name, we are glad to the finders for keeping her safe & getting her help. Athena's past will never be clear but we will make sure she gets a bright future! <br/><br/>Information given from the finders: she seems young like a year old puppy. She barks/whines "a lot" because she had to be crated away from their other dogs. She was seemingly not potty trained and "poops all over the house". Began responding to the name Athena. Had fleas that they were trying to control (maybe gave baths which added to the dry fur).<br/><br/>Since we've taken in this baby we have found that she is crate-trained in the sense that she goes in without a fight and lays down without spinning circles. She is 90% potty trained in her crate & understands fully that outside walks are when she is expected to go potty. That doesnt mean that she would be fully potty trained when given free roam in a house, but utilizing the crate as you would with a brand new puppy is definitely something she would pick up quickly to become house broken! She does cry when crated and not able to follow you around. She doesnt bark much unless youre in another room though. She has surprisingly low anxious energy compared to how she was described & seems very receptive to training. She whines only for your attention, stops briefly when you correct her, waits to see if you'll carry on ignoring her (like when I clean around the dogs) before she continues crying, and seems to be whining less often in general since she has learned the reward system we have here. Athena didnt have any problems meeting other dogs. However, since she is so tiny I am not comfortable adopting her into a home with children or medium-large playful dogs. She is fragile & shy; putting dogs in situations where they feel unsafe can provoke bites and we never want that to be the case. Athena is very attention seeking & sweet as can be, but she also seems to have been possibly abused (or intimidated at least) in the past which may require a bit of adaptive care in certain situations. I have had NO problems interacting with her so far, but have noticed her give a low warning growl when she hears loud energy coming into the room. If im carrying heavy things, walking in a way that might sound like stomping, moving crates which make clanky metal sounds like slamming, she gets defensive like she may be preparing for a punishment. Every time I stop what I'm doing, approach her cage with a calm energy, offer her a scratch or a treat, and she has not growled or nipped toward me at all. She wags her tail & begs for pets as soon as I open the crate door, but she doesnt wag her tail before the door opens. I dont believe she would bite an adopter who understands dog behavior & respects when she is uncomfortable, but I have to make it known that she has exhibited warning signs. Since children cant read a dog's warnings, its a strict no for adopting with young kids in the family. She did fine meeting men. <br/><br/>Athena is continuing to blossom day by day. Shes been loving since day 1, but she is beginning to play more, hunch down less often, walking more confidently, and has stopped all growling even within the past several days! I think she needs a few days to learn to trust new environments but definitely wants to love people & settles in pretty quickly. Shes a little thing only weighing about 7lbs. Some kind of terrier mix (hard to tell if her fur is wiry or just dry, she may have some shih tzu mix) and the vet estimates her age is correct, between 1-2yrs old. Athena has been treated for fleas, updated with vetting (vax & hwt), microchipped, spayed, and began receiving some skin/fur treatment that will be ongoing. Her adoption fee to cover vetting & care will be $500. If youre interested to meet her in St. Cloud, send a message to apply.

This little gal was found wandering around St. Cloud over the holidays. At first her finder thought she could be lost due to the fireworks, but then she noticed signs of possible abandonment or neglect. Firstly being that they kept her 2 days after finding & there were no reports being made for this lost dog on any local pages. "Athena" as she began calling her, has dry flaky skin & super dry brittle fur. Her hip bones were exposed and her head has moderate scabbing, as if she may have been outside (wandering or housed outdoors maybe) for quite a while. Her finder family worried about a possible skin condition causing hairloss but we recognized her naked back end to be a "lion cut" grooming job that appears to be done (somewhat recently) at home by an inexperienced groomer. Owners will often use this haircut to compensate for summer heat in FL, but this time of year (in the middle of cold fronts rolling thru) indicates the other common possibility, being that her back end was severely matted or the skin was highly irritated

This little gal was found wandering around St. Cloud over the holidays. At first her finder thought she could be lost due to the fireworks, but then she noticed signs of possible abandonment or neglect. Firstly being that they kept her 2 days after finding & there were no reports being made for this lost dog on any local pages. "Athena" as she began calling her, has dry flaky skin & super dry brittle fur. Her hip bones were exposed and her head has moderate scabbing, as if she may have been outside (wandering or housed outdoors maybe) for quite a while. Her finder family worried about a possible skin condition causing hairloss but we recognized her naked back end to be a "lion cut" grooming job that appears to be done (somewhat recently) at home by an inexperienced groomer. Owners will often use this haircut to compensate for summer heat in FL, but this time of year (in the middle of cold fronts rolling thru) indicates the other common possibility, being that her back end was severely matted or the skin was highly irritated by fleas or allergens. Either way it is evident that somebody was recently caring for this dog. We scanned her for a microchip and there was none. Checked lost pet reports all over social media & found none matching her. Reported her as found & posted with the county shelter. Nobody has shown up looking for this poor baby. Its possible that she was dumped or even turned in as a "found" dog when sh