Stoney

Age: 4 1/2 yrs

Available Date: TBD
HW Positive

Updated 10/20/11

Stoney came to GRR from a family who could no longer give him the attention he needed. At 99 pounds of pure love, he is truly a keeper!  He is a gentle giant, so great with the kids as they love on him, and just adores being with people.  We’ve only had him for 24 hours, but so far we haven’t seen bad habits... no jumping, no counter-surfing, no chasing the cats, no chewing inappropriate things. He has picked up a couple of the kids’ toys but realizes right away they aren’t for dogs—but he’s great with his own toys, wants to play, likes to have something in his mouth at all times unless he’s resting. No accidents so far, though we’ve taken him out frequently, since we're not sure if he's 100 percent reliable.  He does all right on the leash.  He pulls some, and at his weight, that can feel like a lot! But we'll work with him on that.  He doesn’t pay much attention to the dogs next door, even when they bark at him. And the only growl we’ve heard was when he walked by a mirror and saw his reflection!  He froze and growled before finally walking away.

When Stoney doesn't want to do something, like get in or out of the car or go into our bathroom when we leave, it's very difficult to get him to do it because he sits down and won't budge. And we all know about the Miracle of Dog Weight Gain, where a dog who doesn’t want to move somehow magically triples his weight. That turns a reluctant Stoney into the Rock of Gibraltar!  I had to get a neighbor to help me lift him out of the car when I brought him home, and it took two of us to get him into the bathroom last night at bedtime.  (Once we know that he's fully reliable in the house I'm sure he'll just sleep in our room or in the living room, but we weren't sure how he’d do his first night.)

Stoney was diagnosed with whipworms (an intestinal parasite) and heartworms when he had his GRR check-up. The whipworms will soon be gone, but it will take a while to deal with the heartworms; see the asterisked note below. And he’s around 15 pounds overweight – a healthy diet and gentle exercise will take care of that. 

Stoney really is such a great boy.  He is fitting right in to our family! He’d be great for a family with kids,  but wherever he goes, he needs a home where he’ll be part of the action and get tons of attention!

* Due to the nationwide shortage of immiticide, the drug used for anti-heartworm injections, our heartworm-positive dogs must wait to begin their treatment—for weeks or months, depending on when the drug becomes available again. In the meantime, they will start on a course of doxycycline, which may help (in conjunction with Heartgard) to kill adult worms more quickly. If you would like to adopt Stoney before he begins HW treatment, just let us know. We will cover the cost of his injections with one of our GRR vets as soon as it’s possible to begin treatment.