Oliver

Foster or adopter needed ASAP!!

He makes progress every week, more relaxed and more personality coming out all the time. Poor guy was likely very neglected most of his life. Imagine being born and then discarded, completely unwanted. No one cares if you live or die. No one loves you. Ignored at best, enduring cruelty way too often. Oliver doesn’t need to imagine it, it’s how he was living much of his life.

This was written by his last foster:
This beautiful bronze hunk of pure love has been waiting his whole life to be your new best friend. He was in the Contra Costa shelter for about 6 weeks and scheduled to be killed so I saved him at the last minute because he’s such an awesome, friendly, and gentle dude. He deserves the chance for YOU to find him. Unfortunately, he needs a new foster or adopter URGENTLY because we are quickly running out of the time we’re able to keep him. Oliver has an endless amount of love to give. His absolute favorite thing in the whole world is when a person uses two hands at the same time to hold and pet his XL head. He leans way in, letting you know it means everything to him. Other hobbies include dining in, napping in the sun, napping in the shade, sniffing stuff, tug, short walks, long walks, fetch, cuddling, and ripping apart stuffies to find the squeaker.

100% house trained – he tells you when he is ready to go outside

Neutered with shots

Good leash manners, and easy walker overall

Ready to play or ready to relax

Very Gentle – he doesn’t jump or nip

Not Drooly or Licky, he’s actually pretty clean for a dog

Learns reasonably well, very trainable

Understands “NO” when told

No food aggression with people

No toy possessiveness with people

Doesn’t care about fireworks

Good in the car

Sleeps through the night every night

Knows basic commands, we practice “stay” all the time

Does not wander far if he has no leash on, he wants to stay close to home

Has fun and cute mannerisms that give him character and makes you smile

His coat is soft and has a duo tone to it that gleams like a polished penny in the sun

His eyes are the color of Tiger Eye stones, very cool

Oliver was a staff favorite at the Martinez shelter, often hanging out with them in the office. He is very chill and just ready to do whatever you want. Couch surfing, fishing, gardening, walks, runs, fetch…. He will chill with you if you want to chill, and he will be active with you want some action.

This gentleman is a healthy 85 pound 5ish year old Catahoula mix (maybe mixed with American Bulldog). Based on the nuances of his behavior, and some physical scarring that he has, I believe he could have started life in a stable home. Then at some point, someone else got him and kept him on a chain or braided steel tether, living outside on a concrete pad most or all of the time. Oliver is missing some teeth and will quickly start gnawing on a leash if he is tied up, which I suspect comes from being neglected for long periods while tied up. He has scars on his elbows and legs from laying on concrete, the scars from abrasion created from getting up and laying back down. He was either let go or escaped, and then picked up as a stray. Despite the cruelty and neglect, he still absolutely loves people. He wants to be pet by everyone.

He does not have a barking issue and would do fine in an apartment (or a mansion if that’s your situation). Oliver is curious about other dogs but I haven’t had much opportunity to do safe dog introductions with him. He doesn’t bark or growl at other dogs when we are on walks. When given the chance he will go right up to them for some sniffing. He has showed defensive aggression a couple of times when aggressive dogs were barking directly at him within his personal space, like most dogs would. I have a feeling that with some work and patience he would be fine living with other dogs, but you would need a way to keep them separate at first, for slow introductions. He responds best to neutral dogs who are neither scared nor excited.

We’ve been working a lot on “stay” training. He wants to be with people so bad that it’s difficult for him to stay in one place while I walk away, but he gets better and better at it every day. He’s also finally learned that he needs to sit while his food is placed in front of him, and he now waits (very eagerly) until I say “Yes” to dive in and eat.”