Meet Dorian

Meet Dorian, the senior staffie! Dorian arrived to the Shelter after his previous guardian was unable to continue caring for him. Dorian has lived with smaller sized dogs in his previous home and did well. Dorian should meet any resident dogs in the home prior to adoption. He also has experience living with children (youngest being 2 years old). Dorian would thrive in a feline free home as he finds them a bit too fun to bark at and chase. He is reported to be house trained in his previous home. Other things to know about Dorian: He suffered serious injuries to his hind legs several years ago that were not treated appropriately at the time. Both of his femurs (thigh bones) were fractured and healed out of alignnment and his left hip was dislocated. The part of his femur that connects to his hip is no longer present, which may mean that it was previously surgically removed or this may be a result of chronic dislocation. While he remains enthusiastic about activity, his prior injuries have led to some signifciant arthritis, especially in his left hip. His adopter will need to work with their veterinarian on a weight loss plan to help remove some of the load on his joints, an appropriate activity and exercise plan to help him maintain muscle without too much joint strain, and medication as needed to address joint pain. Dorian also has a previously fractured canine tooth and dental calculus. He'll need a dental cleaning and assessment, which may include removal of the fractured canine tooth as deemed appropriate by the adopter's veterinarian. Dorian's adoption fee has been sponsored by the Santa Cruz Animal Shelter Foundation's Leave No One Behind fund - a fund that draws adopter's eyes towards animals that have been waiting a little bit longer than average for the right adopters to come along and bring them home. The Santa Cruz County Animal Shelter Foundation is now offering “Pawsitivity Bucks” with every dog adoption. This $200 training voucher is a way for newly adopted canines and their guardians to connect with local positive reinforcement based behavior consultants and get their relationship started off on the right paw! Please note: Our Santa Cruz location’s Shelter hours are 11-6pm, 7 days a week! Although clients can walk through and see any animals in their kennels during open hours, we end “meet and greets” (aka meeting an animal out of the kennel) at 4:30pm every day. If you’d like to meet an animal out of the kennel, please arrive before 4:00pm to allow for time to discuss individual animals and meet them.