Ava Labrador Retriever Mix Cincinnati, OH

PLEASE READ CAREFULLY - SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS FOR ADOPTING AVA - Ava came to us in early November 2019 from a rural Kentucky shelter along with her sister Mia. They were 6 months old at that time, the last of the latest litter of unwanted puppies from a family known to the shelter. Ava is just over a year old now and currently weighs about 48 pounds and looks like a lab mix. Ava and her sister had no human socialization before they were dumped at the shelter. They were terrified at the shelter so the shelter was looking for help for them and we were able to say Yes! Ava is making slow progress in her foster home. She is fine with the other dogs in her foster home. She actually loves other dogs - especially the black lab mix male in her foster home who she follows around and tries to play with - she looks and acts like a normal dog around him! But she is a flight risk otherwise - she gets very skittish and scared by unexpected movements and noises and she will bold. She is making progress. She has been attending doggy day care a couple times a week. She has started coming up to her foster mom and "booping" her with her nose but if you turn too quick to look at her, she still runs. She has even started licking her foster mom's hand sometimes - could they actually be kisses??!! Ava has shown zero human aggression - her reaction is flight - hide, scurry, make herself disappear. Loud noises, fast movements all terrify Ava. She scurries to get as far as possible into the back of her crate, under a table, behind a couch, wherever she can hide. She accepts affection and attention - she freezes and acts like a statue - we keep showering her with love and kindness in the hope that one day she will believe she is worthy. Ava needs an extremely patient and loving family with a very well socialized and playful dog to continue teaching her that life is OK, and that she can trust and let her guard down. Ava will likely never be a completely normal dog but she will make progress and she will reward your patience with love in her own way, but we believe that the damage done in her early months is permanent. A trainer said that Ava is semi-feral and we think that sounds right. Ava has not been around kids except at adoption events where she was fine. She is making slow progress - peeking around corners to see what everyone is doing. She is what we call a "project" dog - we are looking for a very special home for her who we believe is up for the challenge of working with Ava and slowly winning her over with love, patience, trust, gentleness, and treats! Because of Ava's socialization issues, we are looking for an experienced pet owner with an excellent vet reference and another friendly well-socialized dog (Ava is partial to black labs - probably because that was all she was around for her first 6 months - but we won't be that picky if we can find her the right match.) Because we will do slow introductions, visits, and a trial before finalizing, we are looking for a family that lives in the Cincinnati area. We are looking for a home with a very secure fence and other sufficient precautions to keep Ava safe. If you are interested in adopting from Recycled Doggies, please complete an adoption application through our website: www.recycleddoggies.org. THAT IS THE FIRST STEP IN OUR PROCESS. Our adoption fee is $195. All of our dogs are spayed/neutered, up to date on age-appropriate vaccines, dewormed, heartworm tested (if over 9 months of age), and microchipped. If you have additional questions, please email recycleddoggies@gmail.com.