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Kiwi

Available for Adoption

Description

Name: Kiwi
ID # A152448
Estimated Age: 1 year, 7 months
Sex: Spayed Female
Estimated Breed: American Pit Bull Terrier Mix
Weight: 44.8 lbs.
Good with Dogs: Yes
Good with Cats: Unknown
Good with Children: Older children
Special/Medical Needs:
Estimated Energy Level: Medium
Current Location: Strathmore, AB.
Adoption Fee: $650

Kiwi 🥝

This pocket pittie will steal your heart in an instant! Everyone is always so surprised how little she is when they meet her, and comment on her “perfect size”. Though she is just a wee girl in height, she’s built like a tank. We lovingly call her ‘Meatball’.

Kiwi was rescued in Bakersfield, California when she was much younger - they guessed about 1 year old at her arrival, and then she spent the next 7 months in a high kill shelter. She’s lacking in confidence, and some house manners, but she is fully housetrained. She has scars all over that will break your heart, and seeing how timid she is usually makes a LOT of people immediately want to adopt her. But she will require a special home for her to thrive.

Kiwi is extremely timid, yet very dog friendly. She tends to submit quickly in hopes of befriending new dogs, and has been great with just about every dog she’s met so far. While it does appear her go to move is “flight”, she has shown us once so far that she will “fight” if she feels threatened by another dog. But it takes a lot to get her there, and she’ll try to hide or leave if she can instead. She tends to shut down completely and freeze like a statue when she’s scared, which is a lot of the time during new situations.

She’s great with her 15 week old baby shark foster brother (she’s currently being fostered with Darry and living with 2 other resident dogs), and seems to be able to match energy with most dogs she’s met so far. Her lack of confidence is noticeably less when she’s not the only dog. She’s a pack girl, but definitely not one who wants to be in the front. Unless you’re handing out treats.

On leash so far she walks like a little Meatball dream, usually right beside or behind, likely because she is still a little too shy. We bring one of the resident dogs with her so she has a buddy to walk with, and that seems to help her immensely. She’s getting braver by the day, and no longer cowers when we put her harness on.

Once she connects with a person (in foster that took approx 24 hours), her separation anxiety kicks in. She spent 7 months at a shelter, and now she has a person around looking after her so she freaks out and shrieks her classic bully protest to let you know she doesn’t want you to leave her. So far it seems quite normal, and she’s slowly getting more relaxed and less anxious by the day. She’ll need someone willing to go slow with her so she can find her brave.

I highly recommend keeping her safely in a kennel when she’s not supervised because she will literally eat your homework lol! While she is very easy to redirect, she is still learning what’s hers and what’s not. Once she’s relaxed with her family, she is much more receptive to training. It won’t take her long to learn the rules of her new home, she’s very treat motivated.

Kiwi would do best in a home with another dog who she can continue to gain confidence from. She’d do best with older children who understand being calm around her due to her extreme level of timidness. She’ll likely blossom into a social butterfly once she settles in to her new home. Her whole butt wags when she’s happy, and she becomes a little flying squirrel when she has zoomies. It will just take some time and patience. We’re finally starting to see a normal, smiley, somewhat weird bully (cause let’s face it bullies are weird, that’s one of the reasons we love them) after almost 2 weeks in foster care. Slow and steady will definitely win the race to earn Kiwi’s trust.

She has not been tested with cats. At this point she is still too timid to test her with any certainty. We suspect she’ll have a prey drive of some sort. She’s not lived in a home for a lot of her life, and her manners will be lacking for cohabiting with small animals.

Kiwi is on the look out for her perfect furever home. Let’s give this shy girl a chance to shine!

If you are interested in meeting this dog, please fill out an application.

Adopt Me!

Adoption costs: $650.00