Meet Betty! She was surrendered to an Oklahoma shelter in early 2019 in rough shape. She was only 30 pounds, depressed, and had lost all hope in humans. She is a Boxer/American Staffordshire Terrier mix. At her surrender, every bone in her body was visible. It was apparent that in addition to starving, humans had not been very kind to her. Betty took her freedom ride on February 2, 2019. Quickly after arriving in her foster home, it was discovered Betty had a severe case of heartworms, to the point she was coughing up blood. The first order of business was to get her healthy. She had to gain weight before she could even get vaccinations, let alone start invasive heartworm treatment. :( Thankfully, her amazing foster mom was able to keep her stable while she gained enough weight to be medically treated.

Unfortunately she still has some psychological issues due to the complete lack of care she previously received from humans. ;( Medically speaking, though, she is completely healthy! She is up to date on age appropriate vaccinations and preventatives, spayed, micro-chipped, and heartworm NEGATIVE!!!! We are looking for a very special, understanding forever home for this incredible girl!

She knows basic commands, is very treat motivated, and is a pleaser, which makes her very easy to train! She is house trained and leash trained. She spends most of her time in a kennel, since she does not get along with other animals but she does not mind too much, it's her safe space and she has always done really well in the kennel. She actually seems to love spending time in her kennel, where she can relax and decompress after a stressful day (which is basically every day for this sweet girl, since interactions with most living creatures are not her favorite thing).

Betty is not great with humans, especially men. When her foster mom takes her to walk at the park, she is very reactive to men in general, but it's worse with men who have beards. Upon meeting any new person, she needs to be given time to explore them and get comfortable on her own. She cannot be petted immediately upon meeting someone. She will take a treat from new people, but then she sits back and watches them as if she is trying to figure out if they are good or not. She also does not like for most people to reach over top of her. She has never reacted to anything her foster mom has done, from picking her up, reaching over her, grinding her nails, giving her a bath, but with people she does not know, she will give a warning growl. She has never escalated to a bite since being in her foster home, but that could be because once she growls, her foster mom immediately removes her from the situation. She seems curious about kids, but has not been around them and would do best in a home without young children, possibly without children at all. The main reason for this is that children typically won't understand her background and how to interact appropriately with her!

Betty also does not do well with other animals. Her foster home has cats and dogs of different sizes and temperaments, all of which she was reactive to. She has worked with a trainer and in that process met several dogs. It is easy to see her focus in before she reacts to another dog, and she is easily redirected. She seems to be able to relax and ignore non-dominant, SUPER laid-back dogs, but she should not go to a home with any other animals.

As with many of our misfits, we will never know Betty’s whole story. She was spayed at some point before she wound up abandoned, neglected, and completely broken in a scary kennel environment. The heartbreaking part is that it is glaringly obvious that humans have not been kind to her.

Betty LOVES chewing on bones, playing fetch and going for a walk at the park. She is not a high energy dog, but she does enjoy a walk around the block or a trip to the park. She will play fetch for hours and when inside, she just wants to be close to her foster mom, chewing on a bone. Betty has her issues (would she truly be a misfit if she didn't?!), but she is just a dog who has had a rough start in life and wants to be loved.

Betty is safe, loved and seemingly happy with her life in her foster home. But if there is any chance that we can find her a perfect home where she doesn’t have to live in a kennel, she would be even happier (she just doesn’t realize it yet).

Apply to meet / adopt her at www.muttmisfits.com/adoption-application