About Sugar

Meet lovely Sugar! He is a 2 year old doberman mix who is smart, affectionate and sweet. Sugar had a rough start in life, growing up in a home with domestic violence. He was surrendered and lived at a vet's office for 4 months, where he was cared for by a great team. He then came to South Pacific County Humane Society where he has lived until February. Loved by staff and volunteers alike, he became a shelter favorite. However, due to being kennelled for so long, and likely exacerbated by his sensory differences (Sugar has some sight and hearing impairment). Sugar developed some major behavioral issues. As well as being extremely intelligent , Sugar also has some sight and hearing differences. This combination along with living in a stressful environment and experiencing early trauma culminated in Sugar developing extreme reactivity to cars. It became impossible to walk Sugar outside of the shelter and ensure his safety, and his options were looking bleak. Through the work of a small group of volunteers, a board and train placement was secured for Sugar with trainer Chelsea Tuning. The shelter volunteers and staff raised the initial funds for Sugar to take up this placement and the change in him has been incredible! The main focus of this training has been to equip Sugar with the skills and coping mechanisms to be in a busy world and feel both safe and confident. Working first to reduce his overall stress levels before introducing Sugar to trigger situations, Chelsea has been able to expose Sugar to cars without him having a major panic attack. Instead his energy levels remain low. He is also no longer mouthing, leash grabbing or jumping. And he has learnt a number of commands including come, sit, down, leave it and stay. Sugar has also been introduced to other dogs, and this has gone well. The transformation in Sugar is amazing and he is now an adoptable dog. If you would like to find out more about Sugar and think you might be able to offer him a home, please get in touch!

Pacific County
Long Beach, Washington