🚨🆘🚨 TANK NEEDS OUT ASAP!!!🚨🆘🚨

‼️URGENT‼️

👉 For the most up-to-date notes, please check the bio located in the comments👈

Tank ACCT-A-209175 is currently considered urgent and at risk of euthanasia due to behavioral concerns. Tank must have confirmed placement with a RESCUE PARTNER by TUESDAY, DECEMBER 24TH at 10AM. Should Tank’s medical or behavioral status change, his urgency and timeline for placement may also change.

Tank was brought to the shelter on December 16th after police responded to a call about a dog crying and lying on a sidewalk. Since arriving at the shelter, Tank has been overaroused and stressed. He has displayed behaviors such as being uncomfortable with handling, head whipping, hyperfixating on people, and lunging; however, he responds well to calm, positive interaction and treats. Tank already knows the command “sit,” and, although he can be a bit snatchy with treats at times, he is gentle when encouraged. He thrives when spoken to gently, and food rewards are a great motivator for him. Due to his behavior concerns, including stress and overarousal, Tank is urgently seeking placement with a rescue partner.

BEHAVIOR:

Per staff 12/20: Tank got out to burn some energy and see how he's doing! He did much better for leashing today. He was on the back half of his kennel for cleaning. He greeted the handler with soft eyes, and sat when she told him to "sit". He had full body wiggles but remained seated and was easy to leash. He came running out once secured. Unfortunately Tank has begun to leash bite, but the handler was able to get him moving and he lost interest. He came into the room running and panting already. He was very aroused and needed an outlet for his energy. We decided to play some tug, since he obviously likes to play tug-o-war. He was doing well at first. He had some intense play growls, but wasn't guarding his toy and would sit and wait patiently to be told "get it!" before grabbing the rope. Unfortunately, Drago got the leash mixed up with the toy, and became over aroused and escalated very quickly. He continuously bit at the leash, growling even more intensely, and almost got my hands multiple times. We tried to redirect him with toys and treats but he was over threshold and only focused on the leash. The main handler grabbed a second leash and got it around him quickly. We were able to get him back to kennel safely and without more leash biting.

Per staff 12/18: Tank got out for some activity time today. He was excited to come out and tried hard to push his way past me. I was able to keep him contained, and got him leashed. When he came up he began to jump up at my hand with an open mouth, which startled me at first. He jumped a few more times but I was able to get him walking and he stopped focusing on my hand. When we got to the eval room we used a double leash to attempt handling. Tank was very aroused in the eval room, and would head whip repeatedly when we pet him. Sometimes he would be able to settle, but after more than ~5 seconds of petting he would whip around. He sat very nicely every time we asked, and could be gentle with his treats when encouraged to be gentle. He got aroused with a toy, and began to hyper fixate on the handler when she ran around trying to encourage him to play. He pulled very strongly towards her and growled. We were worried about redirection, so we called another handler in for back up. Fortunately, Tank had lost all interest in escalating by the time the third handler came in, and was uninterested in chasing the second handler when we tried to replicate his previous reaction to running. He just sat and avoided even looking at the second handler. Tank is very aroused and stressed, and can get fixated when he is in this state. When it was time to return to kennel he hopped right since his dinner was on the floor.

Per staff 12/18: We brought Tank out again for activity time again today. In the room Tank remained very stressed and highly aroused. When interacting with him he would continue to head whip at us with an open mouth, but was more receptive to handling today allowing us to pet his head and back in small spurts. He remained highly aroused while outside though and was difficult to get a good read on due to his stress levels and arousal. When play was attempted Tank did begin to escalate lunging towards me and grumbling. I asked another handler to come in for safety purposes, but by the time they did Tank no longer wanted to engage.

Per vet exam 12/17: Patient is in kennel, bright alert and responsive, comes willingly to front of cage and sniffs hands, accepts treat. Previous intake note noted loose body language, tolerant of handling. Patient not obviously stressed or fearful on brief cageside assessment. No strong indication for behavior meds at this time, reassess if staff feel patient is persistently stressed/uncomfortable.

Per staff 12/17: I met Tank in his kennel today and he was very sweet! He sat and waited for his treat and took the treat gently from me. He is nervous but I went slow, talked to him in a calm voice and he was very receptive to that.

12/17 BEHAVIOR EVALUATION:

KNOWN HISTORY:

Police pickup

KENNEL PRESENTATION:

Tank was standing at the front with a neutral body and eyes with a mid level arched tail. He stayed at the front for leashing and tried to push out with his nose and was easy to leash. Once out of the kennel he was intense with sniffing the handler and very direct, after being pulled away many times he continued. Once the handler started walking he finally moved away.

LEASH SKILLS:

Pulls strongly

Returning to kennel he pancaked and used his whole body weight to push back out.

HANDLING:

In the room, Tank darted around the room and had a high wagging tail. He took treats very snatchy and knew sit. He was a bit pushy with greeting and darting back and forth around the front of the handler trying to initiate play. He would hyper fixate on the door to G row and push his nose strongly into it, nudging every time the dogs began barking and was very focused on the sounds, not focused on the handler or wanting to move away from the door. He seemed very confused and alert with touch. Every time the handler tried touching him he would whip around and hard stare. He continued to be uncomfortable but wasn't reactive.

PLAY:

Minimal interest

TOYS:

No interest

COLOR LEVEL & ANY RECOMMENDATIONS:

Experienced blues

Per staff 12/16: BAR, wiggly, sweet, loves cheese and cream cheese.

MEDICAL:

During his intake exam on 12/16, Tank’s eyes, ears, nose, and coat were clean. He had some staining and tartar on his molars, but otherwise appeared to be in good health.

VIDEOS:

Due to being significantly overcapacity with animals and higher than usual intake, extensions are unlikely to be granted. If you are interested in an animal please contact ACCT Philly immediately. Due to limited space, timestamps may also be proceeded with early so it is imperative to let us know if you are considering adopting or tagging an animal.

ACCT Philly is located at 111 West Hunting Park Ave in Philadelphia. We are open for adoptions 7 days a week. Please visit www.acctphilly.org/adopt for details.

If you are a rescue interested in pulling this animal, please email our lifesaving team, or visit here if you are not currently a rescue partner: https://acctphilly.org/acct-philly-love-local-partnership-program/

Confirmed placement is considered a confirmation of an actual rescue pull. Possible placement, interested parties, and other "TBD" statuses are not considered confirmed and do not indicate an animal is no longer urgent.

All animals at ACCT Philly are from Philadelphia, as the only open-intake animal shelter in Philadelphia, we are not able to accept animals from outside of Philadelphia. ACCT Philly's Pennsylvania kennel license number is 08313.

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