Butzy ::adoptED::
In August of 2021 Butzy (aka Boots) was found wandering the streets near Asan, South Korea all by herself. She had a collar on, but no tags, and was brought to the local high-kill pound where she was confined to a small cage for two months waiting for someone to claim her. No one ever came. Additionally Butzy was heartworm positive but treating a dog for heartworms requires them to have a stable foster home to recover in.
Luckily her sweet and calm nature helped in finding Boots a foster home in South Korea where she spent the next 5 months recovering from heartworm treatment and where she also learned what it is like to be a part of a loving family. Boots clearly has suffered trauma from having multiple litters of puppies but she was also cautious of human touch and was slow to trust her foster family. Little by little, her health bounced back and her heart opened up. As Butzy’s confidence grew, she was able to start taking longer walks without being overcome by fear. She also started accepting touch and quickly learned she loved being pet more than anything! Her silly side began to make an appearance as well.
We are so grateful for her foster family for getting Butzy to where she is today. See Butzy’s journey on our Instagram page here.
A FEW OF OUR FAVORITE Butzy THINGS FROM her FOSTER family…
When Butzy arrived in Portland, she was unsurprisingly exhausted. It took a couple of days for her to settle in and develop patterns with her foster home, but soon she was expressing herself and showing her extremely loving, people-focused personality.
Boots really wants to be involved in every single thing. She’s so curious, she often forgets to care about regular dog things. Within just a few days, she was trailing her foster mom around the house like a little shadow, frequently so close that her wet nose would leave an imprint on mom’s pant leg.
Receiving pets is her favorite thing in the world. She will seek pets (nudging at your hand, creeping closer to you, presenting her hilariously long and tufty tummy) and be perfectly content to watch TV with you while you stroke her unbelievably soft and downy coat. She also adores being brushed and will roll around to expose different parts of herself to you while you do it.
Boots is also extremely clever. Within days, she’s learned English commands for “sit,” “lay down,” “wait,” and “focus.” Though she was at first a bit flummoxed by the purpose of a dog bed, once we did a small amount of treat training, she became obsessed with her bed and now lays in it every chance she gets. She has two dog beds in her foster home and alternates between them.
She has a very clear order of operations and will let you know when she wants to do what! If she’s not ready to go outside, expect her to sit politely in the doorway until it’s time.
She loves to go on walks as a way to feed her curiosity — but don’t expect to get your heart rate up! Her walks are very slow and meandering, which is wonderful for someone looking to catch up on their podcast backlog, and she never pulls on the leash even a little. She’s interested in other dogs, but doesn’t chase much of anything.
Butzy is a very responsible older gal, so she can be left alone in a safe and secure place without any problems. She likes her crate quite a bit — during busy times, or times when she’s feeling overwhelmed by bigger dogs — she will put herself in her crate for security. She’s an amazing traveler, sitting sweetly in the car for the duration of the ride. She’s also a great sleeper, almost never getting up in the middle of the night. On numerous nights, we’ve forgotten she was even there until we heard her snoring (which is, to be clear, legendary).
Aside from her nighttime snores, she is silent. Her foster family has heard her bark exactly one time and it was when she was caught off-guard by a scary item she wasn’t expecting to see. She doesn’t bark at passing dogs (though she loves just gazing out the window), knocks on the door, or loud noises. She hasn’t whined (at least not yet), grumbled, or made any other vocalizations.
She is very nervous around bigger dogs, even very sweet ones. However, little dogs intrigue her and she wants to learn from them! But she also needs her space, so she might fare better as the only dog in a home where she can frequently get together with another small dog. She’s also fine with cats as long as they don’t try to encroach on her space.
Every interaction she’s had with children has been adorable. They always want to pet her on walks — who wouldn’t! — and she’s very patient. As long as the kids are old enough to understand that dogs sometimes need space, she’ll love them.
A FEW THINGS Butzy IS WORKING ON FROM her FOSTER Family…
Butzy is very, very nervous about getting picked up. If she even suspects she’s about to be picked up, she may try to flee, though she won’t go far because she still loves you and wants to be near you. To get her into the car (or onto the couch), we’re working on building trust around getting picked up by giving her verbal cues and practicing picking her up in a safe, nonthreatening, and rewarding environment.
She’s also anxious about doorways and stairs and often needs some coaxing. If there’s someone in the way — a large dog or a male-presenting person — she would rather stay back, even if she really needs to go outside. We have worked on training her to use small accessibility stairs to help her get up and sit next to us on the couch, but she does not trust them at all. She also will not jump unless it’s the only way to get to what she thinks of as safety, even if she really wants to be someplace that requires a small hop.
Potty training has been a little challenging, but mostly because Butzy does not view walk time as toilet time and because very specific conditions need to be met for her. She will go on an hour-long (one block) walk and not do anything. She would prefer to wander a small patch of grass freely for at least 10 minutes before picking the ideal spot. For this reason, she really does need a fenced yard so that she can relieve herself comfortably and regularly. However, within that context, she is extremely regular and has had very few accidents.
Boots is really more feline than canine in a lot of ways. She doesn’t seem to understand toys at all and never plays. Her foster fam has tried a handful of different play styles and toys but she never seems to see the purpose. She would rather you just pet her or give her a snack and lay around being cozy. Coziness is one of her main drives. With that being said, she is still taking some time to warm up to her foster dad. His movements tend to startle her and she doesn’t trust him enough to go into the backyard alone with him.
Butzy came to us as a pretty picky eater and remains that way, which can be a challenge. But once she’s found food that she likes, she’ll dive right in. She is very motivated by a schedule and will often let you know that it’s nearly dinnertime!
Overall, Boots is a wonderful dog. She’s loving and gentle and, once she gets over her nerves, she’s super predictable and easy. She doesn’t steal things that aren’t hers, she doesn’t chew, and she has no interest in making trouble. She’ll sit patiently on the kitchen throw rug and watch you do chores because she’s just happy to be there. All she wants in this life is to lie at your feet while you pet her until you both doze off into a nap.
THE IDEAL FAMILY FOR Butzy WOULD HAVE THE FOLLOWING:
A fenced yard.
Access to small, friendly dogs for frequent get togethers and friendship.
Patience, eagerness to continue training, consistency, & lots of love!
Butzy’s Details:
Breed: Terrier mix
Age: 6 years old
Sex: Female
Size: 22lbs
Color: Red/White
Spayed/Neutered: Yes
Microchipped: Yes
Vaccinated: Yes
Medical notes:
We believe Butzy has had multiple litters of puppies. Her belly is a bit distended and she has a lipoma (benign fatty mass) on her inner tummy/groin area. This currently is not a concern but will need to be monitored.
She has eyelid margin masses (one on each lower eyelid). These are typically benign, but can cause issues if they grow large enough and start rubbing on the eye itself. This currently is not a concern but will need to be monitored.
Butzy was treated for heartworms in South Korea (she recently tested negative) and will need to remain on heartworm preventatives.
During a recent vet visit, Butzy received an injection of Cytopoint to help with suspected allergies. Her eyes have been a bit weepy and she’s been gently chewing on her feet - which both seem to have mostly subsided now. This injection can be repeated every 4 to 8 weeks as needed.
Housetrained: Yes
Crate Trained: Yes
Site: Wildhearts Rescue
Location: Foster home in Portland
Intake Date: 04/13/2022
Good with cats: Yes, cats that give her space
Good with dogs: Yes, only small dogs (she’s scared of large dogs)
Good with children: Possibly older children with a slow introduction
Good with adults: Yes, although she’s wary of male-presenting folks initially
Adoption Fee: $650