MUGSIE
Age: 4 years
Weight: 75 lbs
State: ME
Small Children Under 4?: No
Children Over 4?: Unsure
Separation Anxiety?: Some
Neutered/UTD: Yes/yes
Microchipped?: No
Other Dogs?: Yes
Cats?: Yes
Crate Trained?:Yes
House Trained?: Yes
Obedience Trained?: No
Leash Trained?: No
Attending Obedience At Foster Home?: No
Adoption donation $250
UPDATE 10/26/04 - Mugsie continues to be the perfect dog and we are so happy he
found us. He is what we call a perfect gentlemen. He has gone on trips with us and
behaves so well visiting in other people's homes that he is welcome back anytime. He is
just an all around good boy. He is the most cuddley dog we have ever had. He lays right
down and puts his head on us when we are laying down and just loves to snuggle. You
can't lay down without Mugs being right there. He walks well on a leash and loves to play
with his squeaky toys. The more noise they make, the better he likes them. He is great
when crated and runs right in when we tell him and he hears us open the frig get out a
treat. Again, we cannot express how perfectly this guy has fit into our family. He is the best
and to us is what SCBR is all about. Finding loving forever homes for these very deserving
dogs. Mugsie has certainly found that with us.
UPDATE 8/13/04 - Mugsie is one great dog. He is learning many new tricks and
performs very well for a treat. He loves to go for walks and has learned not to pull and
walks great. He also goes into his crate when told and doesn't fuss anymore. His favorite
toys are squeak toys and the louder the better. He just finished agility classes and will now
be able to use the equipment at the shelter whenever we would like. He wasn't thrilled with
the class at first and was quite stubborn, but he improved with each class and was really
doing great, going through the course almost like a pro toward the end of the sessions. He
did well with the other dogs, but just wasn't interested in socializing. He really is not
impressed much with other dogs. He loves his people, though, and we absolutely love him.
As always, we are thankful every day that he came into our lives.
UPDATE 7/29/04 - Mugsie is doing so wonderfully. He has fit into our family so easily
and is just a wonderful dog. As I said before, we feel so fortunate to have him in our lives.
He gets along with other dogs, people and children. He is going to agility class and is doing
well there and learning alot. We moved into a new home recently with much more room
and he is loving all the space. He crates easily now and goes in on his own. This is one
terrific dog and we are happy people to have this guy.
UPDATED 5/10/04 - Mugsie is doing great in his new forever home. We cannot express
in words how wonderful he is. He adjusted very well and quickly became a member of the
family immediately. His new sister, Joy, seems to love having him around and he has
certainly livened our family up. It seems that Mugsie was trained previously to some
extend by his former owner/owners as he knows so many commands already. We have
been working with him at home and his formal obedience classes start May 29. We
cannot wait to take him. I think he will go far, as he is great with people and other dogs.
He has not a dominant bone in his body. He will definitely get to Canine Good Citizen and
perhaps will become a therapy dog, too. We are so grateful to SCBR for uniting us with
this terrific boy. We were hesitant to get another dog after losing our beloved 9 year old
boy, but are so glad we did as we have a happy "boxer home" again. Thank you! Thank
you!
4/10/04 - Mugsie has been adopted!
3/30/04 - We have had a major breakthrough with Mugsie! Four days ago Mugsie
suddenly started to show signs of paying attention to everything around him & being
HAPPY!! His little nubby tail wagged some for the first time since he has been here & he
actually wanted my attention. I was so happy to see that little glimmer of light in him
finally. Tonight Mugsie cuddled for the first time & really enjoyed being hugged & was
just acting goofy & wanted to snuggle on the couch! I almost cried as I was so happy to
see him actually wanting to be loved again & trusting me. He kept rolling over on the
couch & laying with his feet up in the air. My dogs even thought he was being a crazy nut
tonight! Condor kept barking at him to stop (he likes to control things that are out of the
normal!-LOL) & Sandi just thought it was the greatest thing & wanted him to come play
with her. Mugsie was not ready for playing with them yet, but he did sniff them both for
the first time & seemed interested in them. No growling or bad reactions, just not fully
comfortable with the other dogs yet to show any desire to play with them. Mugsie did
want me to play with him though for the first time tonight. He was constantly doing play
bows, fast stop & starting (I think of it like the red-light green-light freeze in place game
we played as kids) & he would paw me for attention. When I sat down on the couch I
actually had to push him off of me a few times as he is just such a big dog & he was getting
a little too excited & wanted to be IN my lap! What a change from even a week ago
when I couldn't even get Mugsie to look at me or my dogs. I think Mugsie just has a
harder time adjusting to change & was very depressed before. Now he is accepting of
what has happened & that he is going to make the best of it & start enjoying himself again.
Mugsie has been doing well in his crate but he does have some slight anxiety about being
left. Who can blame him though after so much moving around in a short time? I think
Mugsie would be happiest in a home with someone home more often & that does not have
to leave him all day during the work week. Also a home that does not have a lot of
commotion or activity. Now that we are seeing the true Mugsie, I will update again soon
with his wonderful progress!
3/24/04 - Mugsie has is settling in slowly after so many changes in his life in a short time.
He is doing fine around my dogs & cats, but he shows no interest in them at all so far.
Mugsie still acts like he is just very unsettled & is constantly looking for "something",
whether he is in the house or outside. I still think he is looking for his original family &
sadly just has not come to understand why he is here. I feel so bad for him & just want
him to let me snuggle him & tell him he's alright & his new home will be looking for him
soon, but he is just not ready for that yet. :( More updates soon once Mugsie settles in
some more.
3/15/04 - Mugsie arrived last night thanks to everyone for pulling it all together at the last
minute. He was surrendered to a shelter that ended up contacting us us as they felt
Mugsie was just too depressed about being at the shelter. They needed our help to find
him the right boxer home. Mugsie is a handsome reverse brindle 4 year old boy with
cropped ears & a docked tail. He is a very BIG boy & is tall. He is easily about 75 lbs
right now & could stand to gain about 5 more pounds to fill out.
I took Mugsie over to Auntie Janice's house last night for his photo shoot & some
homemade turkey dinner. He sure enjoyed that dinner & licked the bowl clean as could
be. Mugsie also learned quickly that the faster his bottom hit the floor, the faster he got his
treats Janice was giving him! I then brought him home & got him all nestled into his crate
for the night so he would have some time to unwind from his busy day. Mugsie went into
the crate with just a little direction & settled in very quickly. I will work on introducing him
to my cats & dogs once he has had little more time to settle in. Watch for more updates
soon on this guy!