Igor

This 8 year old young man is a very sweet, yet a very timid dog that spent 8 long years as a puppy mill dog before joining the Havaheart pack last year. His first foster mom did not have the experience to help him acclimate to life outside the mill so he is now with Anna. Over the last few months, we have been celebrating many victories. Iggy loves being around his fur family and has been getting along just fine with the cats and dogs in the home. He's not playful with them, but likes being around them. He has struggled to learn how to be your typical house dog. Gentle touching, picking up and simple ear scratches have been very foreign to Iggy. At first he would bite and scratch anyone that tried to pick him up or handle him. He is becoming more tolerable to humans, but he has a very long ways to go socially. Victories so far: Iggy learned how much he enjoyed laying in a dog bed vs the hard floor. He started by laying near it, partially on it then finally gave in and laid on it which took weeks. Playing with toys in secret in the beginning. You would hear him, but he wouldn’t let you catch him doing it. Recently he has gotten comfortable playing in the same room with his humans. He is still not approaching his humans, laying with them, etc. Iggy has never shown any food aggression or resource guarding. He's not interested in his crate and hasn't been leash trained because humans approaching him cause anxiety. Iggy is looking for an incredibly loving and patient family with a secure, fenced in yard. A quiet, relaxed home is a requirement. He needs someone that continues to be on his side and celebrate the victories no matter how big or small. Iggy needs to have a home that's okay letting him coexist. It is very possible he will regress some when moved so his home must be willing to work through that. We will be very selective in his placement given his personality. It must be an ideal adoption. Experience with puppy mill dogs would be ideal.