Derrick has been adopted!
Derrick / Male / Maltese Cross / 6 lbs / 10 yrs / Adoption fee: $300.00
Derrick was quite shy and nervous of his surroundings when he first joined Save Me, with a lot of patience and reassurance, he has bonded very closely to his mom and follows her everywhere. “Once Derrick gets to know you, he will be your best friend!”. It is believed that Derrick may have been abused in his former household(s) and would therefore urge his potential family to take it slowly with him, saying “He loves attention but will move when he’s had enough of a hand on him.” That said, the wait is worth it. Derrick can be affectionate once he has gotten to know his people and is “one of the sweetest dogs I’ve ever met” according to his foster mom. Derrick appears to have a love of adult humans, however does not enjoy the company of children at his age. A dog who loves to sleep at the foot of his owners bed every night, he is loyal but can be fearful of some (tall) men who appear to intimidate him. For example, if passing a man on the sidewalk during one of his walks, Derrick will make a point to walk 2-3 ft out of the way to avoid him as easily as possible. That said, with men in the home Derrick warms up over time.
Though he loves his walks, once he has done his business, Derrick would much rather go back home to get his reward treat for doing his business outside, and then take a nice lay down. His foster mom has been working with Derrick on his house-breaking and so far he has done extremely well. He would do well with an adult who is home during the day and able to take him for his daily walks; possibly morning, noon, dinner and just before going to bed or around 10pm, as he does seem to have an overactive bladder and drinks a lot.
Though he is not pleased with the crate; he would probably be best crated if he was to be left alone for any length of time. He will use peepads if need be. That being said, he holds it at night pretty well and hasn’t had an accident for a couple of weeks now! (Giving him minimal water after 6 p.m. helps with this.)
