In November 2018 Jennifer from Town and Country Animal Clinic reached out to DSDA about a stray dog that had been living at their clinic for the past two months after being found running loose at the intersection of Inwood Road and Forest Lane in Dallas.
Jennifer had helped wrangle the loose dog off the busy road which also happened to be the same location as their vet clinic at that time (which has since merged with another office and moved). They had tried everything to find his owner to no avail and now needed help rehoming him. They had appropriately named the dog “Oliver” after the orphan Oliver Twist. He was in need of a forever home and they were out of ideas on how to find it. Over time the clinic staff had grown attached to Oliver. Dr. Middendorf had even taken care of all his medical needs including his neuter. Oliver was a happy healthy boy who needed a family to call his own.
At that time Oliver was estimated to be about 2 years old. Our volunteers met him several times over the course of a few weeks. We introduced our own dogs to him and observed his life in the vet clinic watching as he loved on the staff and even the clinic cat, Merry, who came to stay the year prior right before Christmas. We found a loving foster home for Oliver with a nice couple, their two teens, their own dog a female retriever mix named Izzy, and two hamsters.
Time elapsed and DSDA was having trouble drumming up any interest in Oliver. Being an adult pit bull mix in a land full of homeless pit bull mixes that Dallas is notorious for, is not an easy task. So in January 2020 the Facebook page Oliver’s Big Adventures was created to help engage more potential adopters. We set up Oliver’s activity schedule that involved the volunteers taking him on daily trips to parks and restaurants to help feed his daily posts and stir up interest.
We were so excited in May when an application came in that seemed the perfect fit. The family even had a little boy named Oliver!
After several visits with the family including an overnight stay a decision was made by them to formally adopt Oliver, although his name had to be modified due to the confusion it would cause having both a child and a dog in the same home with the same name. So Oliver was renamed “Odie Dog”. On May 17, 2020 Oliver’s adoption was finalized! But sadly, the family’s routine altered after several months into Covid Times and in October Odie was returned to us. Big tears were shed by both sides. We were fortunate that he could return to his original foster family that he had grown to know and love for the 18 months prior to his adoption.
We do know more about Oliver than ever before after having the experience in the adoptive home and having him in our program for the past two years. He is a love bug with people but can be protective of small children in the home. He is frightened of some strange noises and fast moving objects that he does not understand like certain toys. He also likes the furniture arranged just so in the home, however, he is able to be desensitized to these changes. He loves Izzy, the dog in his foster home, but we think he would be happy as an only dog.
What does Oliver need?
Oliver needs a loving understanding experienced dog owner who is home more than not.
A home without small children with unpredictable toys.
He loves going for walks and playing so someone who enjoys throwing balls for him to chase- his favorite activity!!
A fenced in backyard to watch and chase birds and fluffy tailed squirrels
Someone who doesn’t mind a clingy dog...he thinks he is a lap dog so snuggling on the sofa, sleeping in your bed and following you around is his thing. You must be ok with this!
Would be best as an only dog...even though he loved his foster sister Izzy...it takes time and dedication and a strong leader to make sure everyone is happy.
No kitties....Even though he did great with a volunteer’s kitties he does have a prey drive and will chase anything that runs so no kitties.
He is great in the car and loves car rides. Car rides are a must!
Oliver is not a high maintenance dog. He just wants to be loved and be around his people all the time.
To arrange a meeting with Oliver in person please visit us at www.dsda.org/adopt and complete our on line no obligation adoption application today!
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