Axel

My story

Stitch is a 4 years old male mixed breed. We suspect he may have Blue Lacy, German Shepherd or Pitbull in him. He came to us back in early 2024, from a divorcing couple. The husband wanted Stitch, so him being left with just the wife early on was extremely hard for him. All of Stitch’s brothers got along with the cats in-home, so they were allowed free range of the home whilst he remained in his kennel unless to be let outside. This had been Stitch’s life for two years until he was surrendered to us. He was extremely undersocialized and hyperactive when he came to Jesse’s Dog Rescue, leading to a long time period of working with his socialization via our other rescues and Bill’s Mutt House pups (the dog daycare we are based out of). Stitch prefers submissive, calmer male dogs and does not do well with correction from other dogs. He has done well in play-groups in the past, but can be dog-selective. He has since been sequestered and been barrier reactive to dogs and humans (heightened if one of his “people” are with him), barking and lunging. It should be noted he does absolutely amazing when given proper introduction in an unbiased location. He has been with us at Jesse’s for so long that we’re worried he views this as his home, something he has to protect. Stitch’s chances of adoption lessen the longer he is with us as this is NOT an accurate representation of who he is. 3 We have noticed Resource Guarding issues with other dogs in regard to high-value food (growling at another dog in the Tractor Supply treat’s section) and humans he is unsure of (snapping at a brand new employee when reaching into his kennel to grab his remnants of dinner), but nothing further. He has done well at places like Tractor Supply, Pet Planet, PetCo, Pecan Lake and Dutch Bros, usually just laying down or curiously sniffing. He has done well on-leash, even during introductions to humans, when outside of our Rescue. Onsite, Stitch does best with slow introductions (while not being restrained) outside. A few months ago, Stitch was briefly adopted before being returned. A family consisting of a man and woman and their three boys (ages 3, 5, and 8). The man worked long hours, so Stitch didn’t deem him part of the home and would show the most reactivity with him. It is important to note that Stitch has never truly learned how to LIVE anywhere outside of his kennel and needed to learn the boundaries in-home. He was fed loose and allowed access to all furniture. He then began Resource Guarding both food and (human) beds and couches, mostly to the man. Their 5 year old boy became very nervous around Stitch after this, leading to Stitch growling at him as well. He was returned after week three. We would recommend no kids below the age of 12 and AN EXPERIENCED FOSTER/ADOPTER.

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