Ears to Progress in Foster

When five-year-old Rex came to the Seattle Animal Shelter, he had a double ear infection so severe, he had trouble walking. From September 2017 to January of this year, his health would stabilize then the ear infection in his left ear would return. With support of SAS volunteers and SAS staff, he had great care and attention, but it’s hard to be happy and be a good candidate for adoption with chronic ear infections – especially as an 80-pound German Shepherd.

After visiting a veterinarian specializing in dermatology, it was determined that his left ear was so damaged from ear infections, that is would never heal on its own with normal medical care, and a total ear canal ablation (TECA) was recommended. He had surgery in mid-January and the doctor removed his entire ear canal and closed the opening to his ear, leaving the ear drum intact.

To support his healing, SAS knew a special foster home would be needed. This is where Krista and Andrew entered Rex’s life. They were coming off of an 18-month foster commitment with a dog (now adopted) named Chloe who overcame extreme fear and sensitivity to strangers while in their care. With a passion for helping dogs in dire need – often struggling with reactivity challenges, previous neglect, fear or nervousness toward strangers – Krista’s take is all they need is time and patience to turn their lives around.

Krista’s been involved with greater foster community for seven years, starting when she lived in Maine. After a move to Seattle, she and her boyfriend Andrew got involved with SAS Foster about 2 years ago and since that time, have fostered five dogs.

While Chloe’s adoption took a little longer than expected once the right person was found, Krista was already reaching out to the shelter to see if they could potentially take Rex and give him a break from shelter life. SAS wanted to find a home post-surgery to help him get on a regular schedule and to see how his personality would manifest once he was no longer in pain and in a stable, loving environment.

Since coming home with Krista and Andrew, Rex has made a lot of progress in terms of accepting touch, affection and discovering the joy of toys. With a true shepherd personality, Krista needs to hide his favorite toys at night because he just wants to go-go-go. Krista said, “He’s affectionate in a shepherd way and likes to be near us all the time, but he’s not a lap dog. He comes in for head rubs and butt scratches all the time.” He also likes to keep watch over his people and will repeatedly check on Krista and Andrew when they are in separate rooms.

“Rex loves to play and is silly, often throwing his own ball for himself to chase inside,” said Krista. He likely qualifies as a ball junkie as he loves balls of all sizes and has been caught sneaking golf balls out of the bedroom and playing with a 10-pound medicine ball. He loves his toys and chewing them, and he knows what belongs to him, leaving all of Krista and Andrew’s possessions alone.

He’s transformed into a sweet and gentle guy who trusts his people and likes to be their shadow. Given Rex had little to no socialization, Krista and Andrew are working on managing reactivity and his dog body language as he likes to come in strong in an excited sort of way. While his dedicated duo is supporting his ongoing development, Rex is hoping to find an adult-only home with strong shepherd experience. Another dog in the family, may be OK, but it would be easiest for him to be an only dog. He needs a family comfortable with his background and ready to keep working with him on his socialization – both with other dogs and human strangers. He also would appreciate someone willing to play with him and his toys. While he’s not a snuggler, he is happy to love on you from a short distance. Rex also loves food.

“He’s very food motivated, and I started stuffing his KONG with apples and carrots and he loves it,” said Krista. “He’s so food motivated, he can be a challenge to train as he wants the food so badly, his brain can’t focus on the training.” To counter that, clicker training may be next on the agenda. In the meantime, Rex is happy to demonstrate sit, lie down and is working on watch me, stay and paw commands. “Rex deserves a chance at a wonderful life after the struggle of his first few years, said Krista.”

If you or someone you know is shepherd savvy and potentially a good match to help Rex find his forever family, please visit his pet profile