Where Eagle Came From isn’t as Important as Where He is Now

Eagle arrived in San Diego on a Wings of Rescue flight from Louisiana. He was one of the more than 80 puppies and dogs on the flight rescued from overcrowded shelters. Now, one year and one week later, he’s left your Rancho Coastal Humane Society for the last time and he’s finally in his forever home.

He’s a year and three months old now. We read recently that the average American dog is a 39 pound mixed breed. That’s Eagle. But there were several things about him that were anything but average.

His behavior analysis says, “Eagle gets overstimulated easily with handling and becomes very mouthy and jumpy and will muzzle punch the handler in the face.”  It went on to say, “Eagle is EXTREMELY dog reactive and does not settle when he can see or hear dogs around.”

He was a puppy. Puppies act like puppies. They don’t know how to walk on a leash. They don’t know where to potty. They don’t know which items are toys and which are not. But they’re only puppies for a little while. Then they learn and become dogs.

After a couple weeks in foster care, Eagle was adopted, then returned. He was adopted again right away, then returned. The adopters told us that, after five months living with them and playing with their kids, Eagle was just too much for them.

At the shelter we exposed Eagle to the sights and sounds of everyday life. He went on walks. We learned that he was reactive to men who were carrying something. It didn’t matter what it was. His strong reaction to other dogs didn’t seem to be going away.

In October, Eagle went into foster care with one of our volunteers. In November, this update appeared in Eagle’s file:

Eagle has been with a foster for weeks now. The foster sent us a video of him playing with a French bulldog. He told me it was by accident that they finally got together. He tried to introduce him to the Frenchie on leash and “it went bad.” Then he sent his friend into the room and Eagle ran right up to the Frenchie and sniffed him intensely. Play ensued for hours. The foster has been using positive reinforcement.

We watched Eagle improve with every picture, every video, and every trip back to RCHS. And now he’s found his forever home…with his former foster care provider.

In many shelters, Eagle would have no future. Thanks to you and your support of Rancho Coastal Humane Society, Eagle has a whole new life ahead of him. We mean it when we say, Every Animal Deserves a Tomorrow ®.