Gina Shepherd Mix New York, NY

Meet Gina! This sweet shepherd mix was likely used for breeding-she was seen in a home with a male dog before being abandoned in a nearby parking lot, extremely skinny, anxious, and with signs of having recently given birth. A Good Samaritan found her and tried to return her to the suspected owners, but they refused to answer the door.

When Gina arrived at Animal Haven, it quickly became clear that something was different about her: She would begin spinning in circles, sometimes snapping at the air in the process. Initially, we thought this might be a neurological problem and consulted with a specialist to conduct an MRI and spinal tap, but the results did not reveal any neurological or medical issues. We then consulted with a veterinary behaviorist, who suspects that Gina's spinning episodes are caused primarily by environmental triggers.

Gina now has a long-term plan to help reduce her stress, manage her environment, and provide her with enrichment and decompression time to hopefully reduce her spinning and air-snapping episodes, but this will be a journey. Her adopter will need to be willing to work with Gina and our trainers to manage her environment and continue her regimen.

While Gina is definitely a project who will do best with an experienced adopter, we can say with certainty that she is a total sweetheart! She's snuggly, playful, and responsive to treats and toys. Her episodes typically happen when she is loose in a space, whether her kennel or one of our training rooms, and she can be "snapped out" of them fairly easily. Animal Haven will of course provide ongoing support to help Gina transition and settle into her new home and life. Reach out to our team if you're interested in meeting Gina and learning more about this darling pup!