About Scooby

Scooby's story is a long one so I will try to keep it as brief as possible. I first met Scooby in approximately September 2021. In early 2022, a friend of my boyfriend said she would be buying a home and needed a renter, so he moved in once all was settled in June 2022. This friend decided to take on Scooby, a roughly three year old untrained dog with past trauma, while having a year old cat and a three year old son. Ultimately, Scooby went from one bad situation to another. The friend didn't have any time to train him* (and neither did my boyfriend or myself), so he was constantly crated or left outside for being too rambunctious and peeing/pooping in the house. I decided to try to find him a home where he could get the love and attention he needed and deserved. *She works crazy hours and relies on other people to raise her child. My boyfriend and I own her cat now and the next dog she got died of Parvo. Only one person showed interest, and she didn't decide to take him until I expressed that the friend was planning to bring him to a shelter. I felt bad dumping the responsibility of an unneutered, untrained adult dog on someone else, but I didn't want to see anything happen to him; he is the most loving, playful, goofy, loyal dog I've ever met. The woman who adopted him has been trying with him since May 2022, but she has many other animals (three other dogs, five cats, a giant Flemish bunny, 23 guinea pigs, two turtles, and fish) and Scooby needs someone's undivided attention. Training efforts have shown minimal improvement. He feels the extreme need to be the alpha, even with her elderly (but lively) male dog. They have gotten in many fights and it eventually got to the point where it was better to keep them separated.* We figured it could have to do with his hormones and not being neutered, so I started researching places to get him a checkup and on a neutering waitlist. We took him to Petco (Vetco) in Media, PA, got him his shots and all standard tests done in September 2022. That day, we unfortunately found out that Scooby has heartworms. I paid for the visit and the medicine to begin treatment, but I am a 20 year old college student with my own pets making just over minimum wage. I wasn't sure how to go about further treatment and subsequently, the neuter surgery; the woman's husband is the family's source of income and never wanted to take Scooby in in the first place (he was under the impression that they were fostering him, not keeping him). *Scooby bit her one time when she was trying to separate him and the other dog. Scooby is strong and has endless energy. It's hard to keep weight on him because he burns fat like crazy. The woman and her husband recently went away for a wedding, so my boyfriend and I went to the house to feed the animals and let the dogs out. Scooby was separated from the others by being kept in their two car garage (temperature controlled and finished). He chewed a hole through the wall of the garage leading to outside within just eight eight hours of being left alone. She feels terrible, but she doesn't know what to do anymore, and I feel awful for handing her a dog that has caused so much chaos. Now, finding a place for him is urgent. A few mornings ago, the husband found their giant Flemish rabbit dead in the garage where Scooby is kept. The rabbit was free-roaming and liked the garage. The rabbit appeared unharmed, so it's not definite Scooby hurt him, but the husband became irate and threatened to put Scooby on the streets if he isn't out of their house soon. The wife and I both love Scooby to death, but we can't give him the life he needs.

Camden County
Cherry Hill, New Jersey