Dunkan

It is with great happiness that I announce that Dunkan has been OFFICIALLY adopted!!!! He went to his new forever home today and I cannot say enough how perfect of a match him and his new family are! Thank you to all of you who helped Dunkan out in his time of need! Thank you Mr. Park for saving Dunkan from his horrible life before Asan. Thank you to all the volunteers who saw something special in Dunkan, specifically Clare Mills and Sofia Dyachkova. Thank you to Mary Miernicki for providing Dunkan with his first taste of a home! Thank you to the countless people who supported Dunkan with their kind words and advice. Thank you for sharing Dunkan's story, and a HUGE thank you for supporting Dunkan financially through donations to help him beat heartworms, eye infections, a cherry eye, an intestinal bacteria, rotten teeth, a skin infection, and his fly biting! Thank you Siera Knight for stepping forward and bringing Dunkan into your home until he found his meant-to-be family. And, an ENORMOUS thank you to Tod Robbins, Clair, Tamara, and Tia for giving Dunkan the best Christmas present ever: a home!!!!

*UPDATE FROM DUNKAN'S NEW FOSTER MOMMY*
"So, after less than a week, Dunkan has adjusted quite well. He understands that he must pee outside the building, not just outside my room. The only time he has barked was one time when a couple people knocked on my door and their was a lot of commotion. He doesn't mind getting a wipe down with a wet wipe every time he gets back from walking. I'm so impressed that he doesn't chew on my wires and other unusual, non-edible objects in my place. He does eat feverishly (not surprised from where he's come from), but if he tell him to "stay" with your palm up at him, he will sit and wait until you say something like "okay/good boy!" in an excited tone. I am teaching him to take food slowly/politely from my hands, and he's already getting the hang of it. When I'm walking on the street with him, he enjoys strangers petting him. If he sees another dog on a leash, he'll pause and stare. He just seems curious. Unfortunately, I can't say anymore than that when it comes to other dogs because the one's Dunkan met were really grumpy. Probably jealous of Dunkan's luscious, blonde locks. He is such a flexible dog. If you want to play with him, he will never want to miss out. If you just want to focus on something else other than him, he'll just sleep for the most part. Regardless, he is always near me. Everytime I get up and walk, he follows me. Usually, he follows me so close that I can feel his nose on the back of my legs haha."

Dunkan went into his new foster home with a wonderful foster mommy! He is a little out of sorts right now and a bit confused about what is happening, but I have no doubt that he will soon settle in and get back to his normal goofy self!

Dunkan is an incredibly happy 3 year old cocker spaniel with luscious blond locks that would be the envy of Hollywood! He is the embodiment of the cliche, "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade!" If you are looking for a permanent feet heater and a furry one who will follow you around, all the while looking up at you and willing you to understand that you are the best thing that has ever happened to him, then Dunkan is the boy for you!

PLEASE READ!!!!
Dunkan shouldn't go into a home with any other animals. He is slightly grumpy toward other animals, but we have been working very hard on his training, and he seems to be getting better. I have my own dog, and they are fine most of the time, but I'm constantly on my toes monitoring and controlling both of their behavior, but if you are not as experienced with dogs, their body language, or their training, then this might be too much to handle (it's too much to handle for me too!), and too risky. I have done EXTENSIVE training with him to keep him focused on something other than the dog he's around (on me, a toy, a treat, etc.) and I have trained my dog to only play with Dunkan while she has a toy, so she is less threatening to him. He has improved A LOT. In the beginning, he would growl and snarl and snap at most dogs he met, especially male dogs and other dogs who wanted to play or challenge him. Now, he does this much less on a regular basis. However, if he feels threatened or challenged, he will respond with a show of authority, and since my own dog is very in-your-face in her play style, this has become very stressful in my home. But please note that Dunkan is not a vicious dog! His aggression, while it does exist, can be redirected easily and managed. He does not lunge at every dog he sees, nor does he respond uncontrollably, you just have to be careful, and if you have your own animal, this is very tiring, stressful, and worrisome, as you would likely never be able to fully trust him to be alone with your dog for long periods of time. Here are some videos of Dunkan post-training at the dog cafe!

Here is Dunkan with Leeloo.

UPDATE FROM FRIDAY:
I am SO proud of Dunkan! We have been working SO very hard on his training to redirect his aggression and today when I was on a walk with Dunkan and Leeloo, we bumped into Leeloo's Scottie friend who was with a recently adopted shelter dog who is VERY unsocialized. This dog kept trying to attack L and D, all the while barking and growling and lunging. For the FIRST TIME EVER, instead of responding to this, Dunkan looked right up at me and sat down, waiting for treats. He held a sit-stay for about 2 minutes while this was happening. Not once did he growl at or have any response at all toward the antagonistic dog! NOT A SINGLE RESPONSE! He was focused on me the entire time and he did it all on his own, I didn't even give him the cue for it!!!! I'm sure I looked like an idiot grinning ear to ear while a strange dog was trying to attack us!!!!!!!!!!!!! DUNKAN! DUNKAN! DUNKAN! Fighting!!!!!!!! (or rather, NOT fighting!) :o) :o) :o)

The good news is that he is PERFECT with humans! In fact, he needs to be around people and is very playful with humans in the silliest way. He will rub himself around your legs like a cat and will always sit or lie next to you, wanting to feel where you are. He is also really good with children (although he's slightly uncoordinated, so when playing, you would have to be sure he can't knock your child over). Where you go, he will follow. When you're on a walk, if you stop, he'll stand patiently right beside you. He is always aware of where his human is and will look up at you with that unconditional love that only a dog has! Since he is very people-oriented, if he had to return to the shelter, I feel he would suffer irreparable damage and would likely become one of those dogs who is deemed "not adoptable."

Here is Dunkan's playful side:

Medically, Dunkan has just a ton of tests, including an MRI, and he is 100% healthy!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Basically, because Dunkan really does need to be in a home with no other animals and with the stress of having him with my own dog combined with the stress he feels from having to share me with Leeloo, I am no longer able to provide a good, steady home for him. I am more than willing to continue helping his next caretaker out with Dunkan and am willing to financially support his medication, but I do not want to risk the safety of my own dog who is too playful for Dunkan's tastes.

I know this is a lot of information to process and Dunkan is definitely not an easy case, but even with these issues, he is still one of the sweetest and happiest dogs I've ever met, and he really is special. Please consider helping this boy out so he will not have to endure the long, cold Korean winter!!!

Dunkan's "Lemon Life" (rescue story):
Mr. Dunkan spent the first 2 years of his life as a prisoner in a hoarding situation. His infected skin hung from his bones, wrinkling without elasticity (see his "before" picture below). His long cocker ears did nothing to halt the endless howls and barks from the other dogs suffering a similar reality. His eyes were infected. The crust and thick, gooey curtains over his eyes did not shield him from the sights of hopelessness. He was emaciated, his belly left empty, cramping from his voracious and ignored appetite. He sat in his own filth with his head hung low and his heart drumming an endless drone of exasperated life. Here is a link with some videos and pictures of the conditions Dunkan spent his puppyhood in. Toward the bottom, there are 3 pictures of him. He is the cocker chained to the dog house and wearing an orange collar. As you can see, Dunkan pretty much escaped from the pits of hell. The pictures are also found below on the message board.

http://translate.google.com/translate?sl=ko&tl=en&js=n&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=...

Dunkan was rescued from the evil hoarder and landed at Asan Jane's Grandpa's shelter, but was still in really bad condition. On top of his emaciation, skin infection, and eye infection, Mr. D tested positive for heartworms and ended up having a bacterial infection in his intestines, a bad ear infection, and a cherry eye. Even while looking like a zombie dog, the kind volunteers at Asan saw something special in this boy and he was taken in by a great foster family where he successfully overcame his medical ailments and where he learned for the first time in his life what a "home" is, and what it means to have meals everyday, to feel a soft palm for a belly rub, and to get bombarded by kisses.

After spending some time with the foster family, Dunkan was adopted by a student in March 2012. Unfortunately, the student was in no place to provide all the love, care, attention, and training Dunkan needed. In July, this student decided to return to her home country without Dunkan, so yet again, Dunkan was put into a situation where he was without a home and without everything a great dog like Dunkan deserves. So he came to live with me and my miniature schnauzer, Leeloo, and here we are today...

Dunkan's "Lemonade Life":
Dunkan must be the happiest dog I have ever met (and I've met A LOT). I can not believe how happy he is, especially given his history! He actually smiles. ALL THE TIME. He dances around your feet (think a purring cat) and will rub himself all over your feet trying to get as close as possible so he can show you just how much he loves you. Several times, he's actually slid down my legs while I'm standing, ending in a Olympic medal-worthy belly rub pose. Many people have taken videos of this at the local dog cafe and they all say that they've never really seen anything like it!!! Such a goofy dude!

As for his temperament, Dunkan is an awesome go-with-the-flow kind of dog. He's content doing anything and everything, provided he's right there beside you. Seriously. If you want to be lazy, he's lazy with you. If you want to go on a long walk and wade around in the local stream, he'll happily prance along side you. He is good with all humans, but will always know where HIS human is and will always look for HIS human, so he is a GREAT candidate for a solid recall (I say "goodbye" and he comes running). One time, he even escaped outside, and I simply stood there and asked, "Mr. Dunkan, where do you think you are going? Come on back", and he happily lopped right back into the apartment!

Dunkan is very food motivated and has learned sit, stay, and leave it. He is also learning drop it and off. He learns very quickly, especially considering that my own dog is always up in his face.

Here are 2 of our training videos. As you can see, Dunkan tries REALLY hard to follow the cue!

Dunkan is fully housetrained now too! He can go for long periods of time without an accident and he can play pretty actively with no potty problems. Sometimes, if he is super duper excited, he'll let out a little trickle, but this has only happened twice since I deemed him "potty trained". To reinforce this, I always make sure to take him outside as soon as he's out of his crate, this way he doesn't have the need to go inside. He is also a quick pottier, so if you are running late, all he needs is 5 minutes or less, and he'll have done his business. He has never pooped inside, so I think he's naturally adverse to this, so we've never had this issue (even when he had diarrhea!).

He is now fully crate trained, which is quite an accomplishment considered he was chained up for the over 2 years and very clearly loves his freedom! In the beginning, he would constantly bark, whine, and howl. He'd scratch at the door and had to be bribed to go into his crate. Now, it's his special safe place and I just bring him close, open the door, and he walks right in!!! He no longer makes any noises while in the crate, except for a little whining when I come home from work. We worked hard on training away his barking, so now Dunkan is a VERY quiet little boy and knows the command "hush up"!

See how quiet Dunkan is? This is after I've been gone for several hours. (Both Dunkan and my own dog are trained to be quiet.)

Amazingly, he isn't afraid of anything, so you don't have to worry about any barking or any fear response to outside stimuli like strange noises, thunderstorms, kids screaming and running up to him while pointing their dastardly looking toy guns at his head. He is also good in almost every new situation, rolling with the punches like a champion! I don't know if he's supremely confident or just aloof, but he isn't at all fazed when I bring him into new, potentially stressful situations! Even my own dog will often respond negatively to all these new things (new floor textures, new sights/sounds, new locations, crowds, etc.), but Dunkan just accepts everything, so he would be wonderful for an active family!

This is what you will see when you take Dunkan to your favorite cafe:

Dunkan has also learned the natural behaviors for a family pet. He knows when it's bed time, when it's time to relax, when it's time to play, basically all the rules of the house, so I'm confident that he would be able to fit right into anyone's life very easily and with little fuss!

We have also discovered that Dunkan loves, loves, LOVES to be brushed! He will stand in front of you, bury his head into your chest, and just bask in the glorious brushing! You can also touch any part of his body because he's not very sensitive, so it's easy to clean his eyes and ears. It's also easy to cut his nails.

The glorious brush!

Dunkan is also very keen on cheap, squeaky chicken toys and he ADORES his squeaky egg. He is also a big fan of his Kong for Strong Chewers! His is very easily entertained and content, and he doesn't need you to jump through a lot of hoops to make him happy (unlike my own dog). He is just so ecstatic to be in a home!

Medically, Dunkan is completely UTD on all his shots, gets heartworm/flea/tick preventative every month, eats Orijen grain-free food, takes an Omega supplement everyday, has had his teeth scaled and 14 teeth extracted for a healthy mouth, gets a dental care solution added to his water, and eats Omega treats and Greenies dental care treats. He gets a professional grooming every 5-6 weeks, and visits the vet every month to have his anal sacs expressed.

Basically, Mr. Dunkan is a fun-loving dog who just wants to be with a fur-ever family and truly deserves all the love he can get for the rest of his life. Dunkan is well-known in the ARK community and if you adopt him, you will have my continued support for your new life with Dunkan!!!

If you are interested in adopting him, please contact me by email and I will send you the adoption application. Please don't hesitate to contact me if you have any questions!!!! Come and meet Dunkan because he is ready to meet you!!

Dunkan will come with his crate, blankets, toys, a "stong chewer" Kong, a 2wk supply of food, a month supply of Advocate, collagen spray, a brush, a generic "Furminator", all his medical records, harness/leash, collar, several shirts, a coat, hair clips, a custom Minnie & Friends hair bow, eye cleaning solution, ear cleaning solution, and he will come with a professional grooming. What more could you ask for?

Please note that the adoption fee will be used to pay for the vaccinations and routine medical care he has had while in my care.