Canelo

My story

Canelo has completed the FREEDOM TAILS Board & Train Program! This popular program pairs a duo of incarcerated individuals up with a PAWS of Grays Harbor pooch for 12 weeks. Each dog has a primary and secondary handler assigned to the same cell, giving the dog 24-hour care and attention to meet its needs. During their stay at SCCC, these dogs receive specialized training to prepare them for adoption to the public. At the end of their 12-week stay, they enjoy a special adoption ceremony with their new families to show off their skills as they start a new journey. Canelo has now joined us back at PAWS GH to continue his search for his new family! 1/9/25: In the first week Canelo has learned cues:SitDownStayComeplaceCanelo is a very smart dog and learns fast. He is potty trained and lets you know when he needs to go. We are still dealing with his behavioral issue of playing too rough. He wants to do this when he gets “Turned Up.” At times it seems like it’s getting better; not.Canelo is a work in progress!!_____________________________________________________________________ 1/9/25Canelo is 1 year 9 months and weighs 78 lbsHe is super cool. Running towards you he looks like a brown bear. He is food and toy driven. He gets excited and just wants to play. Very mouthy right now but we will work on that. He is a work in progress. _____________________________________________________________________1/23/25Hi, my name is Canelo. I’m a happy boy and was brought to a place called PAWS that was at first scary. I came to really like the nice people there. The same nice people brought me to a prison! Who knew a prison could be such fun, I get to play ball all day. My handlers give me lots of treats and belly rubs, even when I’m a bad boy, but they are working on my manners because I came from a home that wasn’t ready for a big dog. I hope to become a family dog again and with even better manners. Please come see me and throw a ball for me! I might bring it back!_____________________________________________________________________Canelo 1/29/25Canelo is loving and intelligent, so much so, that I am beginning to think he has been subtly training us to feed him treats. Fluffy and energetic, he has a playful passion for life that gets you excited to go out and play with him. I once heard it said that dogs don’t have bad days. With Canelo this is especially true. Best of all, when we are out playing, neither do I. I can’t say the same for his favorite toy, that poor rag squirrel. _____________________________________________________________________2/6/25Working with Canelo is a joy. To see his progress not only uplifts me but him as well. This week we get to work on “leave it” and “back”. We have mastered “place”, “kennel”, “come”, “sit”, “stand”, “down”, “wait” and “by me”. This amount of progress shows how smart Canelo is but like any smart dog, he can be stubborn and his stubborn streak is a mile-wide sometimes. His loose leash walking is coming along really well. Canelo will sometimes walk ahead but will come back when called, I chock this up to his adventurous spirit. Canelo is potty trained, has had NO accidents. Overall he likes to listen and this dog will warm your heart, so come see him!_____________________________________________________________________2/12/25One of my humans is old and tired: we play tug and he doesn’t last long. My other human plays a lot more with me: he is younger with more energy. Their favorite toy is the TV. I taught my handlers to give me treats and they always want me to walk them on a leash. My favorite thing about my handlers is that they are patient with me, because I act like a big puppy sometimes. My handlers do have a weird habit: they follow me around and pick up my poop. I wonder what they do with it, maybe they make things out of it???_____________________________________________________________________2/19/25Canelo is fun, he loves to play and goof around. His favorite things to do are play, eat and sleep. Loves to work for treats. He can get excited and jump on you but with a stern “no” and a simple "off" will stop. Canelo would thrive in a home with another dog to play with, a big yard to run in and an owner who would interact with him, playing “tug”, chasing him and throwing a ball. He just wants to hang out with you, gets up when you get up, curious and wants to know what you are up to and is always willing to “help out” with whatever it is you are doing. A great and loving dog: Canelo!_____________________________________________________________________2/26/25 When we first got Canelo he was afraid of stairs. No amount of coaxing would get him up the stairs, tempting him with food…nothing worked and of course we live on the second tier - stairs gotta happen! We put him in a crate and carried him up for a couple of days….then other people in the pod were like, “what the heck?” and were worried we had the Hannibal Lector of dogs or something. We dubbed him “King Canelo”. A couple of days later he was running up and down the stairs like a champ!_____________________________________________________________________3/6/25 In my big fluffy dog head I would say the biggest thing my humans taught me was how to go up the stairs. I started out terrified of stairs, was carried up in a crate for a couple of days. After my humans taught me not to be scared, I really can’t believe I was even scared of the stupid stairs. The stairs are nothing now and I trust my humans to know what’s best for me._____________________________________________________________________3/12/25Canelo has taught me so many things, the biggest being it’s not the end of the world to have some hair on me or the floor or maybe even on my bed. I have learned patience and forgiveness. Running into him during my work day and the look of joy on his face when seeing me gives me a warmth in my heart. So yeah, I would say he has taught me to feel a certain kind of peace and I feel like a better person for knowing him. _____________________________________________________________________3/19/25Canelo has mastered many cues, some of which are sit, down, by me, look, wait, kennel, stay, place…..The brightest and endearing thing about Canelo, he has a cute face that makes it impossible to stay mad at him.The way this dog is different from my last dog is that he is very dog friendly and loves to play.What I miss most about all the dogs is the companionship, fun times and learning to grow together.Please open your hearts and your home for this amazing fluffballPlease apply to adopt at: http://www.pawsgh.org

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