Adopt a Maltese / Mixed (medium coat)

Oh where to being with this poor little chap.  He has got to be one of the worst abuse cases we have ever seen.  While his physical ailments and bruises are no longer, he carries a weight on his shoulders that will require he go to a home with very patient and understanding people.  He is petrified of new people, new things, new places and requires a home that will allow him to operate at his own pace.  He cannot be forced to do things as it brings him right back to his nightmare days and he will literally enter in a panic zone.  He wants so badly to be loved but he simply struggles with how to receive it.  He has been with our canine psychologist for over a year now and we are finally ready to let him try to make the leap into a home.  He will require some transitional training with our behaviorist, at our expense, to ensure that his new mom or dad are equipped to follow-through on the proper way to handle him.  He is not the devil but he is a tiny, little boy that frankly doesn't know what it means to be a dependent dog.  He has come so far though and we just know that in the right home, he can actually find happiness.  

If you are looking for a dog that is going to be a stuffed animal, that you can pick up, groom and love on whenever you feel the urge, he is not your dog.  This is a dog that needs space, time and patience to trust you.  He loves to play.  He is great with other dogs.  Pretty good with cats and once he realizes that you are not going to hurt him, he will seek out attention...on his terms.  He doesn't mean to be so reactive to new things but it is the only way he survived for so long and so now, he needs to unlearn those reactions, replacing them with trust and submission - something he has begun but will take more time with the right home.  We love this boy and are so proud of the strides he has made.  We are praying that someone will see the light for life in his eye like we did and give him that true second chance to LIVE.  This is what rescue is all about.