Monty – Socially Imperfect

Monty has been in and out of our rescue since 2011. Have you read those horse ads describing a devil with hooves? Monty is the dog version of that...in a home. In a shelter setting he's a doll. 

Monty came to us from the Springfield, MO animal shelter. He went to a rescue/boarding facility to recover from kennel cough and then came up to us. He got into several fights during his boarding and apparently decided one of the other rescue dogs we took was a mortal enemy. They both went to a doggy daycare and had to be kept apart. The other dog had no issues, but Monty would bee line right for him and flat out attack him. In the first 3 days of Monty being at the daycare he managed to bite every employee during a dog fight. He flunked out of daycare.

He came to our place and we personally fostered him inside our house. Within the first week he decided to attack 100 pound Newfoundland and Donna was bit when separating this little 25 pound bundle of terrier hell off of that newfie. 

He wanted to attack our horses and we couldn't ever let him outside off leash because he can jump a 4 foot fence like it wasn't even there (and if you had a 6' fence, he'd find something nearby to jump from to get over that fence!). He was super fast and would try to dart out of our door CONSTANTLY. It was such a fear that he was going to get out and get killed trying to go for a horse. 

We fostered him and worked with him for several months. 

Withing 6 months this terrible dog who didn't care at all about humans, food, pleasing anyone but himself...was crate trained, taught to wait at the door for his leash to go on, and was successfully able to interact without fighting with several dogs. 

He was learning. He was becoming affectionate. He loved toys and had learned some treats were worth sitting for. 

Unfortunately he didn't get along with 2 of our personal dogs so we were having to do a rotation between him and them. 

After a few more months we found a foster home in the city for him and they had agreed to take him to adoption events. We had high hopes for him.

Turns out, he didn't like adoption events! He'd become super aggressive, growly, and even growly towards people he knew and liked! We tried different events, quieter events, outside events. It didn't matter. He would become a different dog as soon as he got there. 

He started acting out in the foster home. Darted out of the doors so much all of the neighbors knew him. Figured out how to jump the 6' privacy fence using a picnic table near enough to the fence for him to get a grip and pull himself over. He broke out of the crate, chewed pillows, bedding, couches and the foster couldn't take it anymore. 

By then we had another foster and we asked if he could go back to daycare. LOL They were so worried! He had learned how to be a dog and was ok with most dogs by then. He had issues with other dominant males or around food/toys/too much attention from a human...but in daycare that isn't as much of an issue. 

He thrived in daycare. He made friends, he was loving the staff. They couldn't believe the difference in this dog. He was happy and affectionate. 

From there we found him another foster home and they tried him for 3 months. 3 months of hell. He didn't interact with them, he peed all over their house, he ran out of the door constantly, he chewed things, he never settled in. They returned him back to the daycare. 

Again, at the daycare he was happy. Playful, affectionate, loving life. 

Then a friend of a staff member at the daycare decided she wanted to a foster to adopt thing with him. She had him for almost a year. He loved her, but he hated home life. He was constantly trying to escape. She lived in an apartment with an inside entrance. He managed to squeeze past her and run down the stairs and out the front door...more than once! He chewed things, he marked on things, he destroyed kennels (even though at daycare he'd be crated and never tried to escape!), and he was getting worse about his reactivity issues. On leashes he'd act like a monster towards other people/dogs. After almost a year she had to give up and returned him. 

She was crying and so upset when she brought him back to the daycare and he walked in full of excitement to be back. He never even looked back at her! 

Monty in a home...he's something else!

By now he'd been in our program for like 4 years...and some good Samaritans decided to make finding him an adoptive home a mission. His photos and bio were shared everywhere. They put flyers up around town, they told all of their friends about him.

And it turns out someone who came to the daycare to look at another dog saw and heard about Monty and decided she wanted to adopt both of them. Monty and his beagle friend. 

Remember...the Monty we see...he's not the Monty they see in their homes. By now we are aware of this and we tried to warn her. We all warned her...but he was so happy, loving, playful, affectionate at the daycare that she thought we were exaggerating. 

I don't think he even lasted 3 weeks in his adopted home. He was the worst ever there. I mean the worst. He chewed right thru the side of a plastic crate in just a few hours! He destroyed so much of her house. He was fighting with his buddy. He didn't want petted. He was miserable. 

He came back to us as happy as can be once he walked in. 

Oh, something else I forgot to mention above. Monty has epilepsy and stress can trigger a seizure a few days later. 

So now we've tried so much with him, he isn't handling change well, he isn't handling homes well. He thrives with structure, schedules, and lack of changes. After that last home I decided we'll just let Monty be Monty. He can be happy with us and we won't force him to try another home. He'd been thru enough and as long as he's happy...who are we to tell him hey, you shouldn't be happy!! 

So Monty is a Socially Imperfect RESIDENT and has a safe place to call home with us. He is in our big dog play area and he loves his life. He's older now, 12-15 years old and he's still spry, bouncy, and happy. He's our Monty. We love him just the way he is. He is friends with Missy, Milly, and Rocky. They love to explore the yard together. 

Monty doesn't have a sponsor. Can you help with his monthly expenses? $50 buys special treats and covers the cost of preventative each month for him.