Darla

If you are interested in adopting this dog, please fill out our dog adoption questionnaire and e-mail any questions to:

messagemarybeth@gmail.com

PLEASE VISIT THIS WEBSITE TO FIND THE ADOPTION QUESTIONNAIRE:

http://www.homewardtrails.org/adopt-a-pet/adoption-forms/

LOCATION: foster home in DC

ADOPTION COORDINATOR: Mary Beth

ADOPTION FEE: ADOPTION FEE: $475 This INCLUDES spay/neuter and microchip. **Ask me about our many adoption benefits that include free exams, pet insurance, training and other discounts!

ESTIMATE WEIGHT FULL GROWN: 50 lbs

KNOWN WITH DOGS: Darla LOVES to play with dogs in the dog park!! Bigger dogs with big personality sometimes makes her nervous, but she will just hang by her person when thats the case. Otherwise she has some great polite play!!

KNOWN WITH CATS: Not sure!!

KNOWN WITH KIDS: Darla is VERY sweet and would be fine around kids visiting! She is a little nervous, so may not be a good candidate for younger kids as lots of activity and noise scares her!!

KNOWN COMMANDS: She knows her name, and knows to go in the crate. She's VERY smart and will learn a lot!

KNOWN HOUSEBREAKING &/OR CRATING: Darla is 99.9% housetrained! Sometimes when the outside is scary she opts to go to the bathroom...... in the bathroom!!! Her foster has found accidents RIGHT next to her son's toilet!! Darla is increadibly smart. She's fine in the crate overnight, but gets VERY nervous when left alllllll on her own. She would LOVE to share a home with another friendly pup to keep her company. We would recommend feeding in her crate (as she is a hound and does not like to share her food!)

KNOWN LIKES: Playing with her dog pals and her humans, getting pets. Does well exploring on a leash during walks.

KNOWN DISLIKES: Being alone. She'd love a home where people are around often and perhaps a canine friend to keep her company!!!

ABOUT THIS ANIMAL:

Darla is a sweetheart . She LOVES to be around people, but is a bit more cautious then most dogs her age. Friendly but reserved, she was doing great in DC and loved going to the dog park and sniffing around. She's since moved to a foster home in Virginia and LOVES living in the burbs! She's sharing a home with another female dog and loves the company.

She loves to play with toys, and would love someone who likes to hike and be active!!!

NOTE FROM FOSTER:

She is pretty habitual with morning wake ups. My husband rises at 5AM. Initially Darla took that as my wake up time as well. We worked out an extra hour for me.

Darla is persistent about getting her person, me, out of bed. First method of approach involves tapping your body with a paw. Burrowing causes blanket removal and licking. Ignoring her escalates the situation to a level 10. Darla produces the loudest chewing toy (hard, rubber, nubby) and chomps at Richter scale decibels while thumping her tail. There’s no escaping that.

Darla would be the ideal dog for any teenager or college age individual with tendencies of oversleeping.

Oh, and don’t think you can go back to bed once you have fed her and let her out. Oh, no….once you’re up you’re up. She’s a softer, gentler, cuter version of an old European nonna. She’d fit right in with what I jokingly refer to as an “Italian security system” (all the old nonnas hanging out in the piazza or in their balconies watching everything that goes on). Nothing gets past Darla outside.

Bonus information….we had folks over for dinner and kids playing downstairs. Darla did really well. We kept her and our other dog upstairs in my bedroom while folks were here because the kids in the other family are afraid of dogs. We did let Darla and our dog out about 5-6 times over 2.5 hours. Darla did really well. No barking, no whining, no pacing. She just walked under the table and said hello to our friends like she knew them her whole life. We think it’s because everyone was seated at the table and nothing threatening for Darla. She has turned into a big couch potato this week.

HT ADOPTION INCLUSIONS:

Spay/Neuter

First 3 distemper series vaccines & de-wormings

Microchip - lifetime with no registration fees

Current on heartworm preventative

Current on flea/tick preventative

EXCLUSIVE ADOPTER BENEFITS:

Free first exam with:

Caring Hands Animal Hospital, Palisades Veterinary Clinic, Jermantown Animal Hospital, Union Veterinary Clinic and Clarendon Animal Care and all VCA Animal Hospitals (VCA offers $250 coverage - details provided)

Free online workshop with a professional dog trainer at Fur-Get Me Not within the first 30 days of adopting (in DC/Arlington/Alexandria only)

A portion of EVERY ADOPTION fee supports spay/neuter for animals in under-resourced communities

BE A FOSTER: Save a life: http://www.homewardtrails.org/foster-a-pet/dog-and-cat-foster-program.