Little 'Champ' Ready For Adoption

By Elizabeth Hale

Meet Champ!  He is supposedly a Lab-Chihuahua mix but we think he's much more Lab than Chi! The shape of his head and his ears look a bit like a Chihuahua, but he doesn't act like one in the least! 

Champs is 2 years old and now weighs in at 38 pounds.  When he was rescued by Angels Among Us Pet Rescue, he only weighed 23 pounds and was greatly in need of both food and TLC!  

Champ is neutered, up-to-date on all his shots, vetted, micro-chipped, and ready to find his forever home and family who will love him.  He is also crate-trained and sleeps peacefully inside his crate at night.  He's not currently crated during the day, as his foster mom and dad work from home, so he gets to spend time with them while they work, and is a perfect gentleman in the home. 

This boy had a rough life before becoming an Angels dog.  You see, he lived on a chain his entire life until becoming an Angel boy in January of this year - some days, getting food and water and some days, not.  He had no companionship, no one to love him and play with him or even care about his health. 

When he came to Angels, he was heart worm+, but with great care, wonderful medicines, he is long past all that nastiness now.  Because of being outside 100% of the time for most of his life, Champ likes to spend most of his time on the inside with his people.  This boy isn't one to linger outside by himself, but he's really good with being out there as long as his humans are out there with him! 

As you can well imagine, this precious soul absolutely HATES bugs...sadly, when he was rescued, his ears were full of fly bites, so he sometimes reacts and is pretty jumpy when a bug or fly lands on him.  Can't really blame him - this dog went through some awful times in his previous life, and sometimes, just like humans, he carries a bit of "baggage" with him from those horrible times. 

The thing you need to know about precious Champ is he's on the submissive side.  He's very good with most dogs, but he doesn't like other animals to be in his face until he knows them well and knows it's okay, that they only want to play and don't mean him any harm.  He doesn't currently live with any cats in his foster home, but is not reactive to them at adoption events. 

He seems to really like kids at adoption events, but doesn't currently live with any children.  We think due to his submissiveness, he'd be better with older children instead of very young ones.  In the beginning, Champ was afraid of large men but is doing much better now in his foster home.  His foster mom, Beverly, says: "whomever adopts sweet Champ will need to understand they need to get down on his level to meet him, and not lean over the top of him, or he will tend to shy away and not be at his best." 

We think during his time on the chain and outside on his own, he might have also suffered some level of abuse at the hands of men or others who towered over this gentle soul. Now, some wonderful things about Champ:  he loves to play with other dogs and adapts his play to the size of his doggie playmate(s). He currently enjoys playing with his foster mom's  3 dogs who are 6 pounds, 15 pounds, and 75 pounds so we think Champ would do well with any size dog, as long as they allowed him to meet them and get used to them in the beginning. 

When he first arrived, Champ didn't even know what a toy was, or how to play, but he quickly figured it out and now adores his nylabones, tennis balls and his coveted stuffed toys!  He does share his things well, and even lets his fellow dog mates take them right out of his mouth! 

Champ is a lovable, adorable boy who craves attention, even shares his food bowl with the smallest of the pack.  He's a gentle, shy, sweet, loving companion and would thrive in a loving, safe, understanding home and family. The ideal home for Champ would be one with a loving, patient family who are home some or most of the day and one who would allow him some time to adjust to new routines, new things, new environments.  He might have an accident or two in the beginning, but that would go away as he gains confidence in his new family and forever home. 

Champ does best when his humans correct him gently as he tends to run and hide when yelled at or scolded loudly.  This precious soul deserves the best home and family, and lots of love and acceptance.  Could YOU be Champ's forever family he is yearning to find? 

To find out more, or meet Champ in person, please contact his foster, Beverly, by email at bev@angelsrescue.org or you can contact Angels directly by email at inquiry@angelsrescue.org.  Please be sure to put Champ's name in the Subject line. 

To see more animals up for adoption through Angels Rescue, check out their website at www.angelsrescue.org/adopt or like and follow them on Facebook at www.facebook.com/angelsrescue.