Kiwi ::ADOPTED::
In June of 2020 a mama dog with four puppies was reported to the local pound by a landlord who wanted the dogs off their property. Sadly, the mama dog ran away and her puppies came to the pound in Asan, South Korea all alone. Their names were Kiwi, Lemon, Mango, and Podo (Grape). We don’t have any photos of Kiwi’s siblings because they were adopted remarkably fast. Poor Kiwi was left behind at the pound by herself for 5 months.
Her arm-hugging photos won us over and we’ve been following her journey ever since. Kiwi finally found a foster family in South Korea and stayed with them for 8 months. She didn’t have any luck finding an adopter there so we offered her a chance here at Wildhearts. Even though she was so sweet & friendly, brown dogs often have a hard time finding homes in South Korea because they are often seen as dirty. She had one final move to a different foster home before flying to Wildhearts and was adored by her foster dad there.
Kiwi has a history of being an escape artist (chewing through her leash and collar, bolting out doors, etc.) and has given her fosters both in South Korea and in Portland a few scares. She’s a wild child and needs some work on her impulse control, recall, and prey drive but she is such a silly, playful, and loving pup. With all of her life transitions we are eager to find her some stability with a forever home. Check out Kiwi’s foster journey in South Korea on our Instagram here!
fROM Kiwi’s portland FOSTER mom…
When I first met Kiwi her sweet and gentle demeanor showed through immediately, but I could tell she was also skeptical of your intentions with her. She had a habit, and still does at times, when you approach her from above to get a little nervous and back away. She’ll walk away giving you this sweet side-eyed glance like what do you want with me? I find myself getting down to her level a lot to get her comfortable enough to sit down to allow me to put on her harness before we go outside for a walk or to play. She doesn’t mind her collar at all but has never agreed with her harness no matter what type it is. She just simply doesn’t like wearing it and often shakes as if she’s going to shake it off her. When unsupervised she will chew through it in seconds. Kiwi will bolt away from you out of excitement of seeing a squirrel in an instant, so it’s 100% necessary to have her harness back-up clipped to her collar while outside. Plus, her recall is nonexistent when we are outside in the backyard or when she is overexcited. She’ll only come to me when called when she’s in calm state or when we are inside. Even then sometimes she’ll take the long way around the room or yard to you.
Kiwi has always been amazing while in her kennel. She is so quiet and just lays there with her head leaning on her bed looking up at you with those brown eyes without a peep. She’ll start to get restless around 6-7am in her crate if you’re not up by then but otherwise you won’t hear a sound from her all night. Overall, she’s a quiet dog and will only bark when someone is at the door (which I don’t mind since I don’t have a working doorbell but may be an issue for someone else). While in the house she is extremely well behaved: she’s never had any potty accidents, she never chewed up anything other than her own toys, and is attentive when talking to her. She could use continued training on rushing thresholds and leave-it commands but is great with sitting when asked and paying attention to you if you have a treat. She does this adorable front paw begging when she is excited for a treat or when she sees a squirrel up in a tree. She’s SUPER SMART and a tad stubborn but with her forever family’s persistence and dedicated training I have no doubt she will learn new things quickly and grow to listen to her family.
Kiwi is super playful and absolutely loves playtime with her doggie pals. They will play for hours on end and she has yet to meet another dog that she didn’t want to play with even if they clearly didn’t want to play with her. She’s never has shown aggression at all! Even when other dogs aggressively bark at her she ignores them as we walk by their yard. She’s too cool for their aggressive tone.
I have two cats and it has been the challenge in my house as Kiwi gets too excited and lunges towards them. The cats are very nervous around her due to her behavior. If it wasn’t for that troubled relationship I 100% would adopt her myself. She’s a gentle little soul that is always up for a good time, cuddling up on the couch, meeting new people/dogs and sniffing everything she can on outdoor adventures with you.
Additional notes about Kiwi…
Kiwi has a track record of escaping and bolting. During her foster stay in Portland she’s chewed through several collars, harnesses, and leashes. Twice she has bolted out of the front door, one of those times she took off running into traffic, ignored her foster mom, and was barely caught by a helpful stranger before possibly being injured. She will need continued training on thresholds & recall, our backup system implemented when out of the house, and a forever family who errs on the side of caution before trusting Kiwi with too much freedom.
Kiwi has been a picky eater since day one. We learned that she was being fed table scraps in South Korea during her foster stays and in-turn has been reluctant to eat kibble. Her foster mom has finally gotten her into a great routine with eating and we hope those tips will be used by her forever family to help keep Kiwi’s weight up.
THE IDEAL FAMILY FOR Kiwi WOULD HAVE THE FOLLOWING:
Two adults in the home.
A home without small critters, cats, and without very young children.
A fenced yard.
Another friendly & already trained dog in the home to help guide Kiwi or regular access to friendly dogs for playdates.
Patience, time to train, willingness to hire a reputable dog trainer upon adoption, consistency, and lots of love!
Kiwi’s Details:
Breed: Terrier Mix
Age: 1.5 years old
Sex: Female
Size: 17lbs
Color: Reddish Brown/Black/White
Spayed/Neutered: Yes
Microchipped: Yes
Vaccinated: Yes
Medical notes: Kiwi is a bit on the thin side but has gained some weight since arriving to Wildhearts
Housetrained: Yes
Site: Wildhearts Rescue
Location: Foster home in Portland
Intake Date: 09/15/2021
Good with cats: No
Good with dogs: Yes, with a slow introduction
Good with children: Yes, but due to Kiwi’s need for constant oversight (regarding her escape artist ways) a home without young children is desired
Good with adults: Yes, with a slow introduction