Sir Forest the Duke of Hycliff was on the run for over 100 days. He foraged out of garbage cans, eluded capture and even managed to cause someone to fall into the river during that time. This boy is the stuff legends were made out of. Forest is almost two years old and has lived most of his life feral. In his younger days he was fast, agile and extremely cunning. The culprit that took this bad boy down and eventually led to his capture was smaller than a dime. Forest was bit by a tick somewhere along the way setting in motion a disease that for dogs is easy to diagnose, easy to cure but deadly if left untreated. Over time Forest lost his muscle tone, his ability to walk and run and became one very sick dog. Jefferson County Dog Control located him in an abandoned barn and brought him into their facility. No one quite understood how Forest could go from a high energy sprinter to almost paralyzed. Lack of quality food, frigid temperatures and possible hip dysplasia seemed to be the answer. Weighing in at approximately 50 lbs, Forest was gaining weight and health slowly. Having exhausted all of their resources, Forest came to TFDC to finish his rehabilitation.
A visit to Animal Doctors and a routine Lyme/Heartworm test revealed a hidden secret. Forest had Lyme disease and it was taking a huge toll on him. Dr. Nina Harff prescribed medication and within a few days, Forest was acting like a young pup again. He continued his treatment for thirty days and made huge gains in strength and mobility. He continued to gain weight and was healthy enough to undergo his neuter operation last week. Forest weighs in at 80 lbs and has another twenty or so to gain. He is diagnosed with hip dysplasia and will need continued medical care to stay on top of this issue.
Forest takes a while to warm up to a new person but when he establishes a trust and bond with a human it is deep and lasting. He loves being around his people, playing chase with his Kong and going for walks. He is great off leash (with a trusted human) and reliably recalls. He is intensely curious and wants to have his nose in and on everything. This dog has an effervescent personality and will bring a ton of love, hope and happiness into someone’s life. He is good with cats, although given the opportunity loves to instigate trouble and then make it appear like he is minding his own business.
He is very particular with what dogs he likes and does not like. He does not appear to like unneutered male dogs.
Forest has a very good sense of right and wrong and works hard to police any injustice in his environment. Because of this he needs to be in a household that has experience with dogs and positive based training methods. He has no food or toy possessiveness but will resource guard people that he has bonded with. He is easily redirected but would need someone willing to pay attention to the signs and signals present.
We do not recommend Forest to any family with children as Forest will need one on one attention to help him overcome the issues that come along with feral dogs as well as his medical and social needs. He needs a human who is laced with patience, love, understanding, discipline and time. He will require a person with the financial resources to be able to afford his medical care, a person who is willing to put time into continuing his rehabilitation and training, and someone willing to love him for who he is.
