Gustoff was purchased as
a puppy by a family who
did not provide him with
the proper
socialization. His
family loved him but did
not give him appropriate
attention. Their
primary form of active
interaction was throwing
a ball for him to chase.
The reason Gustoff
entered our rescue
program was because he
had a totally
preventable incident
with a young child.
They had guests over, it
was night time, and they
were celebrating.
Among the guests was a
young child.
Gustoff was in the midst
of retrieving an apple
that was thrown for him
to chase, and the
toddler approaching
resulted in a nip.
The result is an all too
common occurrence.
Gustoff actually lived
with a toddler and,
although his family
never experienced a
problem with Gustoff’s
behavior towards their
child, the wife became
fearful and decided to
drop him off at the
shelter.
Gustoff was scheduled to
be killed and
Animal Control
contacted us to see if
we could help. We
were his only chance.
Once we heard the
details of the story, we
felt that this incident
was the fault of the
people rather than the
dog, which is often the
case.
Gustoff is initially
timid and takes a little
time to accept people.
He is not the kind of
dog you can rush up to
greet. Once he
gets to know you he
becomes your friend and
loves to play. His
favorite game is
pretending that you are
the matador and he is
the bull, and he will
run full speed and
continue right by you,
then turn around.
He is fine with other
dogs, however, he does
not appear to show much
interest in them at the
kennel. We are not
sure how he reacts to
cats. An adult
home with no children
and a quiet low-key
environment would suit
him the best.
Gustoff will also
require a securely
fenced yard.
Gustoff is definitely
cute cute cute, but he
needs a person who can
understand that his
needs will require more
than adopting him
because of his looks.
Can you see beyond his
adorable charm and
nurture what he was
meant to be?
