My story

　　River is currently living with his family and NBRAN will help them find him a new forever home.

　　Narrative:  As a 9 month old pup, River ate a rock and had to have it surgically removed. 14 days after that surgery he became septic and very sick.  He had a second surgery to address that which resulted in the removal of about a foot of his bowel. During the second procedure, the medical team lost all vitals on him, but after a period of time they were able to revive him. The loss of oxygen to this brain has resulted in some mental misfires such as being scared of being outdoors at times, being scared of coming indoors at times, being affectionate one minute and scared the next minute, and not knowing when a noise is going to bother him. He might be described as being autistic like at times.

　　He suffers from Pica which is the eating or craving of things that are not food.  As a result, he requires very close super vision to insure he does not ingest the wrong items. He is currently in a multi dog home with two older brittanys.  In the past 6 months, he has become more forward with them and ‘chest bumps’ them to assert his alpha status. He is not considered aggressive by his family and they have never seen him growl or bite. He gets along well with other dogs, cats and loves young children.  But River seems to like one on one interaction with his people and his family thinks he would do better as an only dog or the primary dog of a 2 dog family.

　　His current family will be having one of the children graduating from high school this spring and the second younger child starting part time employment.  This will result in fewer people being home to watch and care for River.  They would like to find a new home for him where there are people around to watch him and make sure he doesn’t eat inedible objects.

　　Rive is house broken and crate trained.  He sleeps in his crate at night and considers it his safe place.  He has also hunted in the past and has demonstrated flushing and pointing abilities.  He hasn’t had an opportunity to retrieve so that skill is unknown.  He is not gun shy and stays rather close to his human.  While he has had no formal training, he has the instincts.

　　They crate River when not at home as he will ‘break’ into sealed garbage cans and eat the items in them.  He can also counter surf.  He will also paw at his crate and door at time when his brain is misfiring.  He is a well-mannered dog and knows basic commands such as come, sit, stay, and heel.  He has a training collar and has been trained by the use of beeps.  This will come with him to his new home.

　　As far as walking on a leash, he is leash broke but he pulls. A harness is needed to prevent him from choking.  He is a typical Brit that always has his nose to the ground.  We think he wouldn’t pull as hard if he is the only dog on the walk.

　　River is considered an indoor dog and a part of the family.  Because of the loss of a foot of bowel, he can sometimes become dehydrated and constipated so it will be necessary to insure he had a good supply of water at all times.  He is also a charming belcher, which they think is related to the loss of bowel.   And like many dogs, he can develop ear infection when eating a dog food with too much grain.  He is currently eating ProPlan Sensitive Skin formula dog food.  He is also up to date on his shots and has been neutered.  He is currently located in west central North Dakota.

　　While generally well behaved, River does like to protect his yard and people from strange dogs that might be running free in the neighborhood.  He will bark at them.  He has shown no interest in trying to jump the fence although he had done some digging in the yard.  He is not considered an escape artist.  However, it is advisable that he be watched while outside to insure he doesn’t eat anything he shouldn’t.

　　Like many dogs, River doesn’t care for fireworks. He is a pure breed and his pedigree papers along with his vet paperwork will come with him.  The family has been in contact with his breeder, but they don’t feel they would be able to get River the home he needs.  As you can see in the pictures, he is a liver and white britt and bigger in size when compared to other britts.   He is also a bit over weight and could lose 15 pounds. Even with his brain occasionally misfiring, he is still a nice dog and the family wants to make sure he goes to a loving and caring home.  They mentioned that River is very laid back and loves getting attention from his humans.  They will keep River through the end of spring until the right fit is found for him.

　　River is currently in North Dakota.  His adoption fee is $350.  He can be transported up to 1400 miles via our Canine Railroad.  For more information, contact dvoeltz@pie.midco.net . 

　　Thank you for considered in helping this sweet boy transition to the next chapter in his lifeJuly 22, 2022, 12:01 pm

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