My story

　　Ripley is a handome, scruffy pup  around 1 or 2 years old and 45 to 50 lbs. Best guess on his breed is some type of terrier mix - maybe Border Terrier or some other medium size terrier. His family absolotely adores him and have spent a lot of time, money and effort on training. Their young son is austic and Ripley does not seem to get along with the son so Ripley is looking for a new home. He walks well on leash, is house trained and has been a beloved memeber of the family.  Here is what the family wrote about Ripley.

　　Ripley is being placed up for adoption under that saddest of circumstances. Our family is going to miss him so very much, but will feel comforted knowing he is with the right family for him. 

　　Ripley is the sweetest dog you could ever hope to meet. Our family has had a rough go of it the last few months. When one of us was sick, Ripley snuggled up to us and did not leave our side. When one of us was upset, Ripley wanted to hang around until we felt better. He showed so much love to us and honestly made us feel so comforted. 

　　Ripley loves his people. He likes to hang out wherever the family is hanging out. When we come home, he showers us with love and excitement. He lives for belly rubs and games of fetch and tug. 

　　He loves walks and will go on as many as you are willing to take him on. He will try to tug on the leash if you let him, but if you stop walking every single time he starts pulling and say "no pull" and then wait for him to release the tension before starting to walk again, he will usually catch on pretty quickly (though the first few walks can take a lot of patience). He almost never pulls with me anymore.  He loves jogging alongside you (though to be honest we aren't big joggers) and he loves when we let him go on less restricted strolls and follow his nose. Did you know that sniffing relaxes dogs? Science shows that it lowers their heart rates. If you don't let your dogs sniff, you should think about it. Check out this article about it

　　He is still learning to "look at me" when we pass other dogs, people, rabbits, ducks, etc. He can get the hang of it if he has the right owners who will be patient with him and give him lots of treats while he learns. But for now, he definitely wants to chase them all. 

　　Ripley has been through a lot in his first year and a half of life. We don't know much about his first 10 months or so, but Ripley suffered a broken leg due to an accident in his foster home and had undergone surgery shortly before we met him. Our first four to six weeks were filled with lots of meds and weekly trips to Ripley's vet over 45 mins away from us. 

　　Ripley was making a great recovery and was bonding well with our family, but shortly after getting his cast off, Ripley was attacked by a dog in our neighborhood. He needed wound care and stitches. He was terrified by this experience and unfortunately this has added to our poor boy's anxiety. His wound got infected and a few days later he had to endure the whole process over again. Ripley was so brave, but we know that the ordeal scared him and he has been left with quite a bit of trauma from the whole experience.

　　During Ripley's recovery from his attack, he misread our son's attempt to pet him somehow and reacted in fear. This was fully our fault. We should have listened to our vet and kept all of the kids away from Ripley until he was done with his meds. If only we could turn back time. Ripley has never been able to regain his trust in Eli. And Eli is quite fearful of Ripley as well. Our son has some special needs that have made it hard for him to display the confidence he needs to regain Ripley's trust, and they are both scared of each other. This is the reason why we are seeking to rehome Ripley. 

　　It is important that Ripley's new owners are able to provide loving authority that shows who is in charge. His new family will need to have confidence with him. 

　　At the beginning of his recovery from the dog attack, Ripley had to be muzzled during wound care and reacted with so much fear. It was just so hard to witness. But as my husband continued to provide the most gentle and loving care, he built trust within a few days and eventually Ripley would willingly allow my husband to care for him. It was a beautiful thing to witness. This dog has the sweetest heart. 

　　Ripley will not be a good fit for every family. He needs a family without kids. He needs loving, gentle people who will be patient with him as they build his trust. And good, confident people WILL build his trust. He has so much love to give. 

　　He needs a family who is willing to continue working with him on his training and who will give him plenty of good exercise and an extreme amount of love. 

　　Ripley loves games that challenge him mentally and sometimes they seem to tire him out even more than a walk can.  Snuffle pads, puzzle toys, etc. are Ripley's jam. He also loves chewing on a good bone. 

　　Playing is the key to Ripley's heart - tug, fetch, hide and seek. He will love you forever if you play with him. 

　　Ripley is fully potty trained. He doesn't even poop on walks -- only in the backyard. He can sit, wait, come (sometimes), and understands "No" and "leave it." He is also learning to "drop it" and has made great progress on jumping and mouthing. We are still working on perfecting it.

　　Ripley is the perfect pet for a family out there. We are hoping so much to find a family that will love him as much as we do. 

　　Ripley has recently gone through a board and train program. He did great and came back with a lot more obedience and understanding a lot more commands. Unfortunately, the puff of air that was used at the training facility seemed to really scare him. We highly recommend that ONLY positive training methods be used with Rilpley. He is a teddy bear and responds well to love and positive training experiences. Anything that causes him to feel startled will not be a good method for him. 

　　If you have an adult-only home, full of caring, loving people, please consider adopting our sweet boy. He deserves to live out the rest of his life being the happy, playful, loving dog that he is. 

　　If you are interested in adopting please an application at /dog-adoption-application/ and we will pass it along to his family. 

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　　If you have any questions or would like to adopt Ripley, please reach out to the adoption group directly. PetSmart Charities does not facilitate the adoption process. Thank you.