Honey

If you are searching for a companion who will dutifully follow you from room to room and look at you with the most loving eyes ever, "Honey" is the girl for you. BRIEF BIO: Honey is a 50 pound, 3-4 year old Staffordshire Terrier (possibly mixed) who was rescued off the streets of South Central LA (see more details about her rescue below). She has been in our rescue since February 2024, where she has been receiving love, medical attention, a weight-loss diet and socialization. Her love language is "quality time." She is in need of committed and experienced dog owner who has time and desire to continue her training to become her best, most lovely self. Upon adoption, she and her new owner(s) will receive professional training for free. HONEY HIGHLIGHTS: Honey loves walks and food. She needs a fenced yard because she is a sun goddess. She loves gentle, school-aged children (has not been baby or toddler tested). Honey currently lives with another large foster sister, who is an older, confident dog. OTHER CONSIDERATIONS: With a proper introduction and plenty of patience and supervision, Honey has demonstrated the ability to live peacefully with other large dogs... playing, snuggling on the couch, and going on long walks together. Honey is very food motivated and has been on a weight-loss diet since entering our rescue (she's lost 18 lbs). Honey does tend to be protective/reactive on walks, protecting her house and yard, and around small/fearful animals (cats, tiny dogs, squirrels, and even the occasional butterfly). A confident and experienced adopter will make her most successful moving forward. Honey is also terrified of stairs (will not walk up or down), but 3-4 outside steps are no problem. ***** HONEY'S (heartwarming) RESCUE STORY: February 1st, late in the evening, a woman we’d never met dropped off Honey to our emergency foster as a last resort to keep her out of the “shelter” system. She was found as a stray, exhausted and hurt, had no microchip and no one looking for her. She presented as seriously injured and unable to walk, she was also very overweight which made the chore of walking even more painful. We’re fairly certain that she would not have been long at the shelter because of her painful presentation, so we wanted to give her a chance to live. The first two days, Honey was slow to warm up, she refused to walk so we had to carry her everywhere. Honey seemed dejected and heartbroken. It was decidedly difficult to carry a 65# dog outside and back, but it’s what we had to do. She was completely shut down. Day 3, she turned a corner. She started to stand gingerly on all 4 limbs. Day 5 she started to play with us. And gradually, she showed us the dog she really was. When we were able to get Honey to several specialists for her injuries, but after comprehensive x-rays and diagnostics, we were told she had none. Her two greatest issues were very bad arthritis and the fact that she was incredibly overweight for her frame. She was given Gabapentin and Rimadyl for her pain, she was put on a weight loss diet, and she has been given ALL THE LOVE which have gradually helped her become the dog she is today-- a much happier, healthier version of her old self and ready for her forever home. Honey has been discharged from medical care for her arthritis, but it should be kept in mind to limit future injury. She has continued her weight-loss prescription diet, but often cheats with treats.