Mal *Available for foster to a

My story

*Mal is available for Foster To Adopt while we continue to support his healing. Our adoption counselors would love to talk to you more about this amazingly sweet boy!*Sweet Mal has come a long way from where he started — rescued from a hoarding and abandonment case in Yuma, this gentle little guy is now learning what it truly means to be safe, loved, and cared for. And he’s absolutely thriving in his foster home!Here are some notes that his foster has to share!`Leash trained: Yes. Mal learned this so quickly, and is wonderful on a leash. He likes to stop and look around or sniff sometimes, but neither of us pulls at the other and he will start moving again when I ask him to. Sometimes he walks, sometimes he trots, every now and then he feels the joy of stretching his legs and opens it up (which even I have to trot a bit to keep up with, lol). But he lights up every single time I bring out the leash, and absolutely loves being out for walks.Crate trained: Yes. He also took to this very easily. He sleeps soundly at night (has only woken up occasionally to, e.g., loud coyotes or heavy rain that drums on a metal chimney near where his crate is). He doesn’t fuss about being put in there during the day (although sometimes he is disappointed) and sleeps calmly while we are out.House breaking: The only thing left to teach him is the signal that his new family will want him to use to communicate when he wants to go out. We have kept him on a schedule of taking him out every 3-4 hours or so during the day, and keeping him in just a couple of rooms during the day that he understands to be his living space, and that has worked very well. He is so clever I would think that the last step of communication will come pretty easily — I could see him being the kind of dog who could be trained to push a bell or button when he wants to go out.Food: He is eating a generous 1/2-cup of kibble (more like 5/8 cup) mixed with a couple of spoons of wet food per day (no warm water for gravy — he doesn’t like that). We have wound up splitting it into two meals, morning and evening. Sometimes he ignores the morning meal till mid-afternoon, but no matter how late he eats that he will always wolf down his dinner meal. Treats: He likes some dog food treats, not all. He LOVES cheese. (We have just given him tiny pieces, like pea-sized, as training aids.)Socialization: We have taken him for walks on various ro

If you have any questions or would like to adopt Mal *Available for foster to a, please reach out to the adoption group directly. PetSmart Charities does not facilitate the adoption process. Thank you.