Meeko's Story

My mom talked to Meeko's previous owner the other day. She wanted to get some more information about Meeko's past.

Meeko, his siblings and mother were left neglected in a backyard in DC for several months. None of the pups had ever been to the vet. They were all underweight and filthy.
D.C. Animal Control seized all of the dogs and took them to the Washington D.C. Humane Society. All of the dogs were bathed, vetted, and we know that Meeko was put up for adoption.
Amanda and her parents were looking for a family dog. Perhaps the Humane Society could have done a better job of explaining to them about the issues or problems a dog with Meeko's past could have. Perhaps they could have pointed out that Meeko, who they had listed as a Husky/Rottweiler mix, would get to be a pretty big dog, and would need obedience training, etc.
Anyway, Amanda and her parents, like many other people who go into a shelter to adopt, heard about Meeko's sad past, and probably felt sorry for him, and wanted to take him home and spoil him. So they adopted Meeko. He was about a year old, and since he was underfed, was probably still on the small side.
Well, in a home with regular food and excersize, Meeko grew. He got to be tall and muscular with regular meals and jogs every day with Amanda.
Amanda loved Meeko very much, but she didn't know anything about socializing a young dog, or dealing with guarding behavior. She said that Meeko could get guardy about his toys, but she just thought that was "normal".
Meeko was crate trained, but he soon got to the point where he could be left loose in the house when nobody was home and he didn't get into anything. At night he slept on the bed with Amanda.
Meeko was also around Amanda's nephew, a toddler, and was very good around him. He was always very careful to never bump the baby.
Amanda's parents weren't really prepared to take care of a young, energetic large dog. So it all fell on Amanda. When she graduated from high school, her parents realized that when she went away to college, they would be left with Meeko. So one day they said that Meeko had to go, immediately. They told her to take him back to the shelter.
Amanda was devastated. She called the DC Humane Society and they said that they were full, so she did not have to bring him back. She called other area shelters and found that due to the gaurding issues, Meeko would not be considered adoptable. She took him to Best Friends, where he had been boarded and the staff loved him, and begged them to help him. She never told her parents that she hadn't taken him back to the shelter.

So that's Meeko's story. He is learning a lot with my humans and me. His obedience is improving - he now sits and stays seated while my mom or dad put his collar and leash on. Now he doesn't jump up on them and tackle them when he sees them. He is learning to understand other dogs, so he is less clueless. My parents are using trading to work on the toy and treat guarding, and that is working well.

Meeko is also learning to play more gently, he has learned what "gentle" means.

So that's his story. I'm crossing my paws that he finds his forever home soon.