Luke Shepherd & Labrador Retriever Mix Arlington, VA

Meet Luke! This sweet, budding senior was rescued from living chained to a tree in rural NC. When his remaining owner passed away, no one in the family wanted him, so they posted him on social media as a free giveaway. Thankfully, a concerned citizen stepped up to take Luke in until a more permanent solution could be found. She reached out to us for help, and Luke officially became a Worthy Dog.

We think Luke is about 7 to 8 years old, but he could be younger - he still has a good energy level and playful spirit. After only a few weeks of freedom, you could see his joy and total change of disposition. We've learned that he loves toys and enjoys being outside where he can romp and play. He's housetrained, crate trained, and has been getting short daily leash walks to build up his leg muscles and stamina after living a forced sedentary lifestyle on a chain.

Luke has been an inside dog for over three months now and has lived with a smaller dog and cats. He just did a short board and train for him while his foster family traveled. The trainer introduced him to multiple dogs and new people to assess his social skills. He did well interacting with everyone and is learning how to navigate new social situations, something he never experienced in his prior life. Luke has some natural protective tendencies that come with his breed mix, so his foster mom is having guests visit to teach him how to meet and greet visitors. He does well when given tasty treats and a few minutes to assess and trust the situation. He needs an owner who will give him that leadership and guidance, and keep expanding his social interactions.

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FOSTER MOM UPDATE - 4/15/24

"Luke is so affectionate with his people and is a joy to have around. He's very easygoing and will let us rub him and handle him easily. He has started to gently poke us when we're eating but will just lie down when we ignore him. He loves going for walks--or should I say strolls? We are doing two short walks a day and his strength and stamina are improving. He has been pretty good at meeting people during our walks, but he's still cautious in new situations and needs someone who understands that. We don't pass many dogs on our walks and he can get excited but is very easily redirected.
He was good with a 9-year-old neighbor he met and didn't get excited/fearful when his friend rode by on a bike.

Luke likes to play with us, but he is also self-entertaining. He loves his wishbone nylabone and Kongs. And he'll often push the Kong at me to play with him. He doesn't guard his toys, you can take them out of his mouth as well. No evidence of food guarding either. He doesn't love his crate, but he will settle in calmly. When we come back in from our last potty break before bed, he will head towards the sofa. I usually need to guide him by the collar into the crate. Today left him in the house alone for about 45 minutes, and all was good. No anxiety, no destruction, we returned to a calm dog.

We've been working on his greeting skills in the home and he's learning that visitors mean tasty treats and lots of pets. Luke needs reassurance of what to do in new social situations. The first day he was here I had a neighbor come over. We met outside the gate and walked into the yard together. He was great. Then she rang the doorbell and came in; once again he did well. The second day a different neighbor came over and we met outside the gate. He was a little more excited and grabbed at her hand--not a bite but a little more than mouthing. Then he was fine. She took the leash and started working with him, and he was fine.

We had three different people come over last week. My trainer friend Beth greeted Luke with lavish treats and had him literally eating out of her hand in no time. The next day her husband came with the same results. Another neighbor stopped over the next day with the same results. We had a houseguest stay with us last week, so when my friend arrived, I gave her treats to win Luke over. Once again, that's all it took. He was really nuzzling her hands for a while, so we had her hold out a flat palm as he got pretty playful with her. We crated him overnight as a precaution, but he was also fine the next morning and good when we got home five days later.

I took him to PetSmart yesterday and he exceeded all expectations. He was a bit surprised by the automatic doors but only hesitated momentarily to go in. We leisurely wandered the aisles. We didn't meet any dogs during our wandering, but dogs near the exit or waiting for their grooming didn't seem to interest him. And he does so well in the car, he either sits or lies down. He did give the bank teller a big hello when we stopped at the drive-up window!.

Overall, Luke is fantastic! Affectionate, easygoing, friendly, likes to play but is laid back. He's a keeper!"

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We are looking for a FOSTER or ADOPTER for this handsome boy, and are open to foster-to-adopt homes too. Luke needs a calm home/community environment and a family with a flexible schedule. He's not a city dog, He would do best in a single-family home with a yard to explore, and would be fine as an only dog
or paired with another calm dog who matches his energy level. He's been chained most of his life and needs time to adapt to all the new things.

MUST have some large dog experience and know how to lead. Luke is a great dog, loves people, and will be a very loyal companion, but he also needs someone to gradually introduce him to new things and show him what's expected of him.

Apply today for this very worthy dog.

BREED ESTIMATE: Shepherd/Lab Mix
GENDER: Male
APPROXIMATE WEIGHT: 75 lbs
APPROXIMATE AGE: ~ 7.5 years old
COAT TYPE: Medium wavy coat
ADOPTION FEE: $400
OTHER INFO: utd on shots/neutered/microchipped
LOCATION: Fort Mill, SC

FOR MORE INFO OR TO ADOPT: Please go to https://adopt.worthydog.org and complete the application.

You can also help save dogs like this one by becoming a foster, providing a rescue dog with a temporary home and giving them the love and care they need until they are permanently adopted. Every person who fosters is directly responsible for saving the life of a dog, because we can only save as many dogs as we have foster families available to welcome them into their homes. If you think you might be interested in becoming a foster and want to learn more, please go to https://foster.worthydog.org and fill out an application.

Worthy Dog Rescue is an all-volunteer, foster-based rescue that primarily adopts to families in the DC Metro area.