Keaton now up for adoption

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Keaton came back from his appointment at the Veterinary Emergency Clinic on Monday with the dental surgeon and it turns out there's nothing wrong with his teeth. He's just got a couple of bumps sticking out of his top gums - no worries whatsoever. That means Keaton is all ready to be adopted.

He's only been with us for a couple of weeks but it's still going to be hard to let him go. I'm going to make sure he goes to a good home, however, and his adoption will make room for more foster dogs in the future.

Here's his bio in case anyone out there wants to pass it on:

Keaton is a fabulous nine month old, black German Shepherd mix. He loves playing with other dogs and is great with people, though probably not with very young children as he's still a big, sometimes clumsy, puppy himself. Keaton is generally very quiet but can make a bit of noise when left alone in his crate before finally settling down so he won't be good for an apartment or condo because the neighbours will definitely hear him when you first leave him alone at home.

At about 60 pounds, he might put on a bit more weight but he probably won't be getting much taller. He is housetrained though in a new environment, he may make a couple of mistakes. He is presently being clicker trained so he already knows sit, down, shake paw, stay and come. He is not yet 100% reliable with all of his commands but he is highly food motivated and extremely intelligent which makes him easy to train.

While we've been fostering him these past two weeks, Keaton has become great pals with our 5 year old Bearded Collie, Smitten. They love to play wrestle and Keaton's come up with some pretty sophisticated moves. He can also entertain himself with his various toys, especially the squeaky, rolling ones, whenever Smitten doesn't feel like playing.

On walks, Keaton is quite good with greeting people and at the dog park he knows to play at the same energy level as the other dog, so with puppies and shyer dogs, he is more gentle and with more energetic dogs, he is just as rough and tumble.

Keaton is a handsome, good spirited, smart young dog who is well on his way to being a most wonderful lifelong companion for someone. As with all dogs adopted out from Toronto Animal Services, he will be vaccinated, neutered, microchipped and licensed.

Keaton will likely be at the Dufferin Grove Adopt-a-thon on Saturday and possibly at Woofstock at the TAS booth on Sunday. He's a great dog and anyone who wants him had better show up with a bulletproof résumé cuz I'm going to be watching over his adoption like a hawk.

Thursday, June 9, 2011 · [Print]

4 Comments to “Keaton now up for adoption”

Social Mange says:

June 9, 2011 at 10:41 PM

What can be said....I'm just in love with this dog.

Beautiful portrait of him, Fred.

Fred says:

June 9, 2011 at 11:20 PM

Thanks, SM.

erika says:

June 10, 2011 at 4:51 PM

I wish you all the best Keaton... You're amazing.

Anonymous says:

June 12, 2011 at 10:36 AM

thanks for looking out for Keaton Fred!

A request

The reason for this blog is to help get specific dogs adopted from TAS but equally important is to try to normalize the idea of shelter dogs being just as good and just as desirable as any other dogs including those which are regularly merchandised by backyard breeders, puppy millers and those few remaining pet store owners who still feel a need to sell live animals. The single greatest stigma shelter animals still face is the belief that shelter animals are substandard animals. Anyone who has had enough experience with shelter animals knows this is untrue but the general public hasn't had the same experiences you've had. They see a nice dog photo in a glossy magazine and too many of them would never think of associating that dog with a dog from a shelter. After all, no one abandons perfectly good dogs, right? Unfortunately, as we all know, perfectly good dogs are abandoned all the time.

The public still too often associates shelter dogs with images of beat up, sick, dirty, severely traumatized animals and while we definitely sometimes see victims such as these, they are certainly not the majority and, regardless, even the most abused animals can very often be saved and made whole again.

Pound Dogs sometimes discusses the sad histories some of the dogs have suffered. For the most part, though, it tries to present the dogs not as victims but as great potential family members. The goal is to raise the profiles of animals in adoption centers so that a potential pet owner sees them as the best choice, not just as the charity choice.

So, here's the favour I'm asking. Whenever you see a dog picture on these pages you think is decent enough, I'd like you to consider sharing it on Facebook or any other social media sites you're using (I know many of you do this already and thank you for that). And when you share it, please mention that the dog in the photo is a shelter dog like so many other shelter dogs waiting for a home. If we can get even five percent of the pet buying public to see shelter dogs differently, to see how beautiful they are and how wonderful they are, and to consider shelter dogs as their first choice for a new family member, we can end the suffering of homeless pets in this country.
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Pound Dogs

The Dogs of Toronto Animal Services South