My story

　　Please go to our website at  to find out more about this pet and to submit an adoption application.  Please DO NOT call or email us; all information about current dogs available, adoption donations, vetting, and this specific dog are on our website. We are a non-profit organization and we are completely 100% volunteer run. We DO NOT have a shelter and only approved applicants can make appointments with our foster homes to meet the dogs we have.Our volunteers will not discuss dogs we have available for adoption UNTIL you have an application on file and are approved to adopt.General Notes | Meet Mario, he is one excited happy boy to be in a loving CO foster home with a foster dog brother to play with!Want to adopt this dog?  Please do not email us.  Please fill out the Adoption Application ASAP.  Personality | Mario is a sweet loving boy.  He is still a bit of an excitable puppy who loves to explore the world by first putting it in his mouth.  He likes to be close to people and is figuring out snuggling on the couch and how nice that is.  Mario is an interesting mix of really confident and exploring everything, but cautious around people and fast movements or getting cornered.  That is improving rapidly as he gets used to the good life with good people.  He has no hesitation around bigger dogs and holds his own well.  Mario is a little smaller than most labs and is really a diamond in the rough just waiting for someone to see all his sweetness and potential.  Story | Mario was an owner surrender for unknown reasons.  It could have been his heartworm positive status since that is an expensive big process.  He has no obvious behavior issues that would have been the problem and he is such a sweet boy. Other Dogs | Mario loves his foster brother who is a 6 year old Lab mix, who loves Mario in turn.  They play very physically and love to wrestle and take each other down.  Mario is definitely a very mouthy player and shows his teeth a lot, but there has been no issues of it going too far.  Cats | Not sure, no exposure in foster home.  I could see him playing too hard with a cat and causing trouble, but I don't think he would hurt them on purpose.Children | No exposure yet.  He is a bit mouthy still and chews on everything, so it could be difficult.  But I doubt he would be mean or aggressive with kids.  Training | Mario is still a pretty blank slate with manners and discipline.  He knows sit really well, and comes when called.  And when he gets too distracted to be called all you have to do is shake a treat container and he comes running.  He likes to beg, but that is no surprise seeing how skinny he is.  He really needs to gain 3-5 pounds, and as a result he is so humgry all the time and devours his food.  He is not food aggressive, but he can tend to try too hard to get more food.  He wants to please, he just needs some training and consistency.  Mario is essentally house broken, but does have a tendency to mark occasionally, especially right after eating.  We are working on that...Leash | Not much leash work yet, but he does fairly well.  Needs work on pulling, but is responsive to correction.  Activity Level | Mario is pretty high energy.  He has a very puppy energy and look to his face.  He is getting better at settling in, but he seems always ready for action if allowed.  He plays hard with his foster brother several times a day.  Not sure if he fetches as he is always heading right to our dog for some wrestling. Health Notes | Mario is heartworm positive, but don't let that deter you.  Dogs can live a long life after heartwrom treatment and are not contagious to other animals.  Heartworm can only be gotten from a mosquito.  The rescue will take care of all heartworm treatment expenses. Otherwise, aside from needing to put on some weight, he seems very healthy.  His ribs and spine are quite prominent, so we are on a good feeding regimine. Thank you! |Adoption Donations | Our adoption donations are $425 for dogs 8 weeks to 1 year, $375 for 1-6 years, $325 for dogs 7-10 years, and $175 for 11+ years of age. Purebred dogs regardless of age are $475. These minimum donations help to defer the costs of initial vet care, food, and supplies while in foster care that currently average over $700 per dog).Meeting Dogs | Foster dogs may have meet & greets by appointment to approved applicants only.  To become an approved applicant - please complete the application process.Please know | Available dogs are updated as soon as possible and we do our best to keep it up-to-date, but occasionally dogs shown may become unavailable without notice due to a pending adoption.We encourage you to put in an application even if you don't see your new family member currently, as once you are approved, we can place you on the waiting list for first priority on the selection of the dogs we do bring in. That means you can often meet a dog upon transport arrival and adopt before they even make it to this page!We can not guarantee that a dog you wish to adopt is available by the time your adoption application is submitted, processed, and approved.  Your application is good for 90 days from the time of approval for any dog as long as it is a good fit for your family and your lifestyle. December 18, 2023, 10:55 pm

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