Jet

Meet Jet! This dapper dude is a real special guy and all he needs is the perfect person or family to call his own!  He is a large dog who weighs about 90 pounds. The shelter is unsure of his true age but he is at least 10 years old. Jet seems to be coming from a background of neglect and, as a result, he may still look a bit rough around the edges, but don’t let that fool you – patchy coat (it’s growing back, slowly but surely!), and bumps, and scars aside, not a walk goes by without at least one person stopping to to say hi and exclaim over what a handsome boy he is, or how sweet and tranquil his nature seems. And it’s true – despite his history, Jet loves approaching and saying hello to just about every person and dog he passes on a walk. (Cats are unknown – he has only noticed one once, and he just froze and stared at it until his foster firmly nudged him to move on.)

Jet has some pretty typical signs of osteoarthritis, which means it takes him a bit longer to stand up from naps. He will be happiest without having to navigate stairs or hardwood floors. Jumping into cars is a bit challenging – but don’t let that fool you. He seems to love car rides, and will even approach the cars of complete strangers if he sees an open door! Once inside, he calmly stays in the backseat and enjoys sticking his nose up to the window to sniff the breeze. And in general, once he is standing and shakes off his tight muscles, Jet seems very comfortable with his back legs and loves going on long walks. In fact, he will enthusiastically nudge his leash if he thinks you are too slow in getting your socks and shoes on. Once outside, he will keep a calm, measured pace, stopping regularly to sniff the flowers and plants, and only pulling against his leash when a squirrel teases him by running right in front of him and up a tree!

Jet does not seem to know many commands. He will usually offer you a paw if you put out your hand for him, but none of the typical ‘command’ words seem to trigger familiarity in him. As long as you are not looking for your next trick dog, this shouldn’t present a problem as he is generally quite well-behaved. The only thing he seems to bark at with regularity is the mailman, and that seems related to a pretty typical ‘defense of home’ instinct. As for toys, he is not really sure what to do with them. Even when a Kong is filled with treats, he still just sort of stares at it confused. His only ‘weakness’ is related to his mouth – Jet does not like people doing anything that might be deemed suspicious around his teeth! It is the only time he has shown signs of defensiveness, but he seems responsive to firmly being told ‘no’ and has had several positive sessions with his foster mom with her gently playing with his mouth and lips and even touching his teeth and gums in exchange for peanut butter training treats. It seems like he just needs to know nobody will hurt him there, and needs a bit more positive reinforcement.

Since he does not play with toys, Jet’s main activities are sleeping… and snuggling! Jet will calmly sleep away the day on the couch or a cozy blanket while his foster mom works from home (but he also snoozes calmly when home alone), but when it’s the end of the day and she comes to sit on the couch, it’s ‘game on!’ for snuggling! Jet may not be much of a kisser, but he loves to receive pets and scratches, and will eagerly join you on the couch and lay down as close to on top of you as he possibly can. He is a strong self-advocate, and will let you know he expects more scritchies by bumping you with his head vigorously when you stop before he is ready. Sometimes he even chatters his teeth while doing this. He can occasionally be a bit pushy in his advocacy for attention, but if you make it clear it is just time to relax, he will calm down and settle in for a snooze against you.

In the words of his foster mom, Jet is the “goodest, handsomest boy!” and his sweet, even temper and stoic receipt of the rather excessive amount of hugs and kisses she showers upon him have really won her over. She just knows he will do the same with whoever is lucky enough to snag him to take back to his furever home.

Jet is posted for the Seattle Animal Shelter. He is not at the shelter but in one of their foster homes in the Seattle, WA. area.  Please fill out a Dog Adoption Application, available at www.seattle.gov/animalshelter/forms.htm and email it to the Seattle Animal Shelter Foster Dog Program at adoptionreview@gmail.com.

This is not an ODH dog; we urge prospective adopters to do their own evaluation.