Gonzo - pending Lhasa Apso Mix Seattle, WA

**Adoption pending** Gonzo is an adorable blond 5 year old Lhasa Apso, who weighs about 15 pounds. He is looking for an understanding home where he can snuggle and love and be cared for on his own terms. Those terms are generous, but they are specific, so potential adopters should read his bio carefully before applying to adopt him.

Gonzo was found as a stray and spent some time in the doggy jail before Wonder Pets was asked to help him out by getting him into a foster home and loving on him.

Gonzo was found to have significant dry eye issues, and it quickly became clear that he is very picky about how his eyes are cared for. Gonzo has severe anxiety about having eye drops administered and is extremely uncooperative. His foster family has worked through a care regimen with eventual wonderful success and his eyes are showing huge improvement. Any adopter will need to commit to continued lifetime care of his dry eye and understand potential future complications and costs of this condition. His current eye medications are around $60-$70 monthly. Techniques that worked (and didn't work) to encourage his cooperation will be provided to potential adopters.

Gonzo is cooperative for most routine care, but does NOT cooperate well with common grooming of his face (such as trimming of his facial hair). He will usually allow a trusted person to brush him, but is very uncooperative for grooming that would require restraining. Potential adopters should be aware of this and be able to recognize dog body language and help him navigate stressful grooming care. Adopters should understand that it will take time and patience for him to build up trust for this, and should be committed to working with him long-term to build this trust to work through some of these issues.

Because Gonzo is very picky about the way he is physically interacted with (especially around his face), he would NOT be a good fit for young children living in the home. Older resident children that are good at understanding and respecting dog boundaries would be fine, but a monitored introduction would be required prior to adoption. Visiting respectful children (with supervision) would likely be fine for Gonzo.
As Gonzo has grown in trust with his foster family, his playful and affectionate nature has become apparent. Gonzo loves to snuggle , preferring snuggles on the bed at night over sleeping in his kennel. Gonzo also loves to play on occasion and enjoys a squeaker toy and maybe some games of chase.

Gonzo appears to be potty trained, but a new home may require some work at re-learning what he already knows. After a transitional period, he is generally pretty good about pottying where he should go.
Gonzo loves to go for walks and will happily dance and throw himself excitedly into his harness at walk times! He enjoys and needs these walks so much, but does not require a lot of exercise. He enjoys meeting most new people (he does prefer women, but will warm up to most men) and other respectful dogs of all sizes, and is perfect with his resident foster cat. Gonzo would not be a good fit for a resident dog that is bossy or forceful with him, as he will react negatively to being bullied by another dog.

When Gonzo is feeling silly, he will attempt to dart out a door trying to entice his people into a game of chase. Potential adopters should have a plan in place to keep him safe from the dangers of this behavior! Gonzo is affectionate and enjoys being with his people, but like many Lhasa Apsos, he is stubborn and prefers to obey requests on his own terms. Patience is a must with this boy!

Gonzo does not like to be left by his people and will vocalize that displeasure loud and long at times. He will not be a good fit for apartments or close-dwelling living situations. He would prefer a family that is home more often than not, or that is able to bring him with them on family outings/working outside the home setting. He rides well in the car and will wait patiently while his people are running errands. Gonzo's foster family is currently working from home, but he has been able to be left for several hours while they are away and has tolerated this okay.

Gonzo is neutered, microchipped, wormed, and current on routine and rabies vaccinations. His adoption donation is $450.

No phone calls please, go to www.wonderpetsrescue.petfinder.com to complete an adoption application. Wonder Pets Rescue is a 501c3 non-profit organization and adoption donations are tax deductible. Like us on Facebook, www.facebook.com/wonderpetsrescue.