Zane

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Gender: Male
HDB Approved: No

Estimated DOB: 1 Jul 2016

Personality: Meet Zane – a handsome boy with a bad rep. A dog that has aggression issues, but deep down, just really craves love ♥️
Rescued as a puppy with a maggot wound, Zane recovered well, went to a few foster homes, went for adoption drives, and even underwent a surgery for a loose kneecap that had caused him pain & discomfort.
Through all these, we discovered that Zane has pretty severe food aggression & guarding behaviours.
After several attempts at finding him an adoptive home, he eventually had to return to the shelter, where he could only be handled by a few volunteers — with them knowing that there is a chance they may get bitten. He did end up biting one of his handlers.
Dogs with such issues face an almost certain fate when they come back to the shelter – they might end up living out their lives here.
Fortunately for Zane, one of his handlers decided to bring him home. But he can only be handled by one person at home – fed, walked, showered. And even then, with caution.
He still growls at the other person at home and they’re working to slowly introduce them safely.
You see, as sweet as he might look, and as affectionate as he might be, Zane has an issue with being touched. He seems to enjoy it, but if you pat him for an extended period, he might suddenly turn on you and try to bite you. Perhaps it was the fact that he was rescued as a lone pup with a maggot wound at just a few weeks old, and we had to clean his wounds daily. The pain each time we handled him could have caused him to be distrustful of touch as he grew older.
He also guards his food bowl fiercely — even with the people he’s familiar with. No one can go near or touch him or his bowl, when he’s eating.
He also guards his space fiercely — he would growl and bare his teeth at people standing at the gate to his room.
Now that we have laid out the bad stuff, let’s lay out some of the good stuff this boy has!
He’s good to be confined (just be mindful he guards his space), can be left home alone for long periods of time, is grass-trained, and gets along with most dogs. He’s pretty fuss free in that respect. He is also HDB approved! 🥳
Some things we have come to realise for dogs like Zane:
– Not every dog is going to be a social dog, or a dog that wants to be touched or cuddled. And that is OK.
– Love your aggressive dog, but don’t let your guard down with him, especially around others.
– Have a management system in place in your daily life to safely care for & enjoy having the dog.
We believe there is someone out there for every dog, and even though Zane is not the easiest of dogs to rehome, we hope we can find him a forever home.

If you are keen to foster SOSD dogs, please register your interest here.