We are currently accepting applications from SW and Central Florida for a special boy who needs to be an only dog. Ben is 11 months old, neutered and weighs 66 pounds. He is very reluctantly being surrendered because he has developed issues with the other small dogs in his house.  His owners feel he would be much happier being an only dog and we commend them for making this very difficult decision. Here’s what they have to say about Ben:

Ben is a sweet, goofy, cuddly fuzzball and loves to be touched!  He loves for you to hold his paw and gaze into his eyes - and when he is tired, he will curl up and sleep at your feet... He loves to chase balls, go for long walks and will swim in the pool all day if you let him... Ben is also a great guard dog - vocalizing when someone pulls up - or when kids go by on bikes...but settles right down with a reassuring pat and "Good Dog!"

Ben is house-broken and paws at the door when he needs to go out.... He is crate-trained, but prefers to be loose...he may bark a bit when he's first placed in it.  Ben is also very smart and will vocalize when he sees something that he can't get to:  like when a favorite ball rolls under the couch and can be mildly anxious and vocal if not exercised regularly... He has been through two basic training / obedience classes but can be stubborn and should live with an experienced owner who will be consistent with exercise and training. We typically take him on a 1-2-mile walk in the morning - and another 1 mile in the evening...  He would love a fenced yard to zoom around in as well.

Ben has recently developed a very strong resource guarding behavior with other dogs (not people)... so we feel he should be an only dog - avoiding any households with small animals or young children. Ben is used to 24/7 human companionship - but has been left on his own for 4-6 hours uncrated with no problems... He is not destructive.

Ben will go to his new forever home with all his chew toys / balls, feeding bowl and stand, gentle-leader / harness and leash. He is up to date with all vaccinations and fully vetted. We also have put together a DVD of all Bens' puppy pictures.... Ben has been raised in a loving family and will be terribly missed.

~~ If you are interested in learning more about this dog, please contact us at applications@grrswf.org, or you can read about our adoption process in detail and download an application from our website at http://grrswf.org/index-2.html.PLEASE NOTE: We serve Southwest Florida from Naples to Tampa, and sometimes slightly beyond if needed or possible. If you are interested in adopting one of our dogs but live outside our usual area of operations, please us know as soon as possible; this will allow us to ascertain whether we have volunteers in your area who would be able to assist in processing your application, and may save you from completing an application that we might be unable to process. Unfortunately, much as we would like to, there are some locations that we are simply unable to cover as we do not have sufficient representation in that area to perform the required home visits prior to the adoption, or follow-up visits afterward.