Breed: Standard Poodle
DOB: 10-2002
Sex: Neutered male
Weight: 50 pounds
Foster home: Julie
186-10

We are not sure why this handsome guy originally came into his name but since the Caped Crusader dedicated his life to fight crime, it was decided to keep it.  Now we don’t think this Batman is going to dedicate his life to fight crime but his past life was a crime and we have promised him that he will not have to ever worry about that again, so in a way, we are helping him fight the crime of his previous conditions. 

When he first came to us, he had many wounds from dog bites and he was very wary of other medium to large dogs.  Once he makes friends with a bigger dog, he will play with them but if another dog gets attention, he gets “jealous” and will start a bully act with them.  It will be in Batman’s best interest if he is adopted to a home with no other large dogs or only large female dogs that are submissive.

In addition to the wounds, Batman was abandoned in an apartment for two weeks or longer.  By the time he was discovered, he was extremely skinny and very agitated.  He was aggressively protective of his food with other dogs so he needed to be fed separately and may need to be for the rest of his life.

Batman was also suspicious of humans that he did not know and he was very edgy about someone holding or taking him by his collar.  It has been a couple of months that we have worked with him trying to de-sensitize him to this.  He is doing very well and now when he attends adoption events, he is eager to meet anyone and even nudges stranger’s arms and hands so that they will pet him.  What really was surprising is that he seems to seek out young children, especially boys and even tries to run over to them to get their attention.  Even though he has this affinity for children, it could make him nervous to be around the quick movements of small children so he will require a home with only older ones.

While it looks like this sweet boy is over most of his fears, he does get nervous when there is a thunderstorm.  He doesn’t get frantic or go crazy but he is definitely not relaxed and is fearful of the loud rumbling.  Most of the rest of the time he is now a happy boy who loves attention and to play a game of fetch outside but he will need a compassionate owner who understands his dark past and will not antagonize him in any way that will remind him of his past cruelties.

E-mail julemson@wmol.com if you have any specific questions!