Barkly

My story

Barkly is a gentle, handler-oriented boy who just wants to be close. He’ll climb into your lap, lean in for pets, and offer soft kisses to let you know how much he appreciates your presence. If you stop petting him, don’t worry—he’ll politely whine to remind you he’s still there, ready for more love. This affectionate boy is all about connection. Barkly arrived at ACCT Philly as a stray on February 25th with a serious tail injury, which led to an emergency amputation. He struggled to adjust in the shelter environment and began chasing his “phantom” tail, removed his cone, and chewed at the incision site, showing clear signs of stress. More recently in a foster home, he showed moments of calm—laying quietly on the couch while the TV played in the background—but he’s still very easily triggered by sound or movement, sometimes spinning or chasing. His foster, who is sadly unable to keep him due to travel, shared that while it takes management, Barkly is learning to coexist peacefully in a calm environment. Barkly has so much love to give—he just needs a safe space to give it. Come meet Barkly at ACCT Philly any day of the week from 10 am to 6 pm VIDEO: Barkly loves PB enrichment https://youtube.com/shorts/-h9czaFHGbs?feature=shared Barkly On A Walk https://youtube.com/shorts/ql41i2LMShg Meet Barkly: https://youtube.com/shorts/7PlrHC4RKuA?si=CKfBN53GV-XDRWkl Barkly and Yameya Meet: https://youtube.com/shorts/7MP-cqnCyiw?feature=share BEHAVIOR 04/03/2025 Foster notes: Barkly is doing better the past day and a half. I’ve taken to keeping him downstairs when I’m in meetings, with a tv on downstairs and my office door closed upstairs. I can hear him bark a bit but he mostly just lays on the couch quietly. He’s still compulsively looks at or starts chasing his tail if I make noises so it’s more me avoiding triggering him than actual improved behavior on his part. But we’re managing to coexist. 03/10/2025 foster notes: Barkly is doing really well. He calmed down on the car ride home and he’s been very at ease since. PREVIOUS SHELTER STAY NOTES 03/09/2025 volunteer notes: Two other volunteers had Barkley in the ISO Run today. He was observed spinning (like chasing his tail) as I was told he had done in his kennel as well. At one point, one volunteer said they no longer felt comfortable handling Barkly, due to the spinning - B is a strong determined pup, and a spinning dog on leash isn’t easy. So I took the leash and tried to help sooth him as best as I could while they worked to get him a new cone, his old cone was tattered & falling apart. Barkly was having a hard time settling & continued to spin- more on than off. He was never aggressive, he never redirected. He mostly just seemed very stressed. The volunteer who was feeling uncomfortable with handling was offering treats to help B settle, as was I & he took them gently. At one point when I did get him to settle under my feet and lay down, he was letting out deep breaths, and with each deep breath was a sigh that was like a whine which I can only assume means he is potentially in some pain due to his amputated tail. Staff met us in the run and helped return Barkly to his kennel where he was observed spinning again once we shut the kennel door. 03/08/2025 volunteer notes: I went into ISO to see Barkley. He was spinning in his kennel, but when he saw me with the leash, he stopped. we, went over to the ISO yard, I put him on the long lead, and we walked around. He seems to be houstrained. We didn't stay out long. He's so skinny. It was cold, it was dark. We went into the hallway of the ISO, and I found a toy for him to play with - i gave him had a stuffed toy, but he couldnt use his paws because of the cone so I traded it for a long rubber toy that he could actually hold with his paws and chew on it. we even played tug a bit. He even laid down a couple of times just to chew on the toy. Periodically he would stop and spin, and then I would get his attention back to the toy. He cried a bit when he was spinning. I don't know if it's some kind of phantom pain he feels bc the incision doesn't look bad. He took treats very hungrily and as skinny as he is, I can't blame him. I tossed treats into his kennel and had no trouble returning him to his kennel, though I felt awful because I knew he was going to start spinning. He's a very sweet boy. He's just a good dog in a bad situation and needs to find somebody who will help love him and help him heal. 03/08/2025 volunteer notes: Went to visit Barkly in iso with concern for his mental well being. Found him spinning and slamming his cone into walls in his kennel. Had to trap his body between my legs to get him to stop spinning. He was hot and worked up so clearly had been spinning for a while. Once outside, he jumped on his handlers and wanted his head scratched and to be as close as possible. He would still do the occasional frustrated spin until he found a toy on the yard. He gnawed on it for some time which seemed to help soothe him. Once he broke the toy, we went back inside where he resumed spinning in his kennel. If he could not be in a kennel and had an indestructible kong to chew on, that might help him during this difficult time. 03/07/2025 staff notes: Barkly got out for a dog meet with Yameya. He was pulling strongly on leash towards her, which was a bit overwhelming for her due to his cone. He was very interested in her, but she was avoidant. I think he wanted to be friendly, but since he doesn't have much of a tail and he had a cone on, it was harder to read his body language. I don't think they were the best match for each other, but I think he could do well with a dog that matches his energy once he's not sick and no longer has a cone on. 03/07/2025 staff notes: The last few days, Barkly has been seen spinning in his kennel, trying to grab at his "tail." He was put into a big kennel instead of H row, and is on medicine and is also getting additional enrichment but is still often spinning, fixated on trying to get it. He is rapidly deteriorating. 03/02/2025: I took Barkly out before doing his promo since he only had his intake picture. He was a little eager during leashing which made it a little tricky to get the leash over his cone but he soon realized patience is key and waited for me to get it fitted right. He walked well through the kennels and outside. He pulled towards the two dogs he saw but was able to be redirected with treats! I let him meet a small dog, Marcus Barkus, through the fence and he sniffed him excitedly, no reactivity shown. He sat for treats and sniffed around but wouldn't potty so I took him back inside. He did well letting me get the leash back over his cone which took a little bit to maneuver. He's a very sweet big boy! 02/26/2025 staff notes: KENNEL PRESENTATION: Barkly was in a bottom sidebank when approaching. He was laying down and looking up with sad soft eyes. He sniffed at the leash but remained in spot laying down. He allowed for easy leashing and came right out without issue. LEASH SKILLS: Pulls minimally Gets nervous on leash if his cone bumps into things HANDLING : In the yard Barkly was anxious, but very sweet with us. He was very handler oriented and just wanted to be on our laps and would whine if we weren’t paying attention to him. He was very affectionate, leaning in for pets and soliciting often- giving lots of kisses and climbing into our laps. He took treats gently when offered from us as well. PLAY: No interest TOYS: Interest but no possession 02/25/2025 finder noted Barkly to be, “Scared, sick” MEDICAL: On 3/6, Barkly was prescribed gabapentin and clonidine for stress. On 3/5, Barkly was diagnosed with an upper respiratory infection (URI) or "doggy cold" and started on medication. He tested positive for pneumovirus and has been moved to isolation. On 3/3, he received an incision revision on the tail amputation site and was neutered. Per an exam on 3/2, “Got cone off and chewed open tail amp incision, started on SSD and Clavamox yesterday (3/1), site looking worse today. Wearing cone in kennel but hitting tail against walls. Tail amp incision gaping open, looks worse (much more open) than photos from yesterday but discharge slightly improved. Very reactive around tail, unable to examine closely. Tail amp incision dehisced, infected. Will likely need another surgery to be debrided and closed again.” Per an exam on 3/1, staff “brought Barkly over to surgery because he'd gotten his cone off and chewed up his stitches. He was very insistent on chewing on his tail, once the cone was on he was spinning in circles to try and get at it. Incision was completely torn open. Cleaned incision site.” He was prescribed trazodone to help with his stress, SSD cream to be applied topically, and Amoxi/clav for infection. Per an exam on 2/25, “Open wound on tail with no active bleeding. Exposed muscle is stringy. Pt very sensitive when examining around wound. Otherwise pt is very friendly and sweet, love belly rubs. No live fleas found, open wound on tail with muscle exposed and stringy. Bright, alert, responsive, friendly, social, very sweet. Sensitive around tail. Loves belly rubs and giving hugs.” He received an emergency tail amputation. He was prescribed carprofen and gabapentin for pain management. Other than the tail injury, Barkly was found to be in good health overall. ACCT Philly is located at 111 West Hunting Park Ave in. 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

If you have any questions or would like to adopt Barkly, please reach out to the adoption group directly. PetSmart Charities does not facilitate the adoption process. Thank you.