Hi, I'm
currently located at
ACCT Philly
Philadelphia, PA
age
Adult
gender
Female
color
Merle
size
Med. 26-60 lbs (12-27 kg)
pet id
39882644
Mystic is now accepting applications for the position of Best Friend Fur-Ever! Our sweetheart Mystic came to the shelter as a stray on 11/15. Estimated at seven years old, Mystic was initially stressed and fearful in the shelter environment. But Mystic has blossomed over the past month, overcoming her fears to transform from a shut-down and scared pup to an outgoing and affectionate social butterfly! Mystic is an office foster, meaning she spends her days and nights hanging out with staff in a cozy office area. This laid-back girl is the ideal officemate, and staff have praised Mystic for her calm demeanor (her favorite activities include naps and snuggles!) as well as her friendly greetings towards anyone who enters the office. Mystic is housetrained and knows to use her puppy pads when she's alone overnight, too. Mystic, or "Misty" as her shelter friends call her, even got to spend a few nights having a slumber party with a volunteer, who said she was a total dream and extremely well mannered! When it comes to other dogs, Mystic has done well meeting them and seems to prefer more easygoing dogs who match her energy level. She would like to meet any future canine siblings prior to adoption to ensure everyone gets along. Sadly, Mystic has not had any interested adopters during her month in the shelter. Due to critically low shelter space, Mystic must exit the shelter with an adopter, experienced foster, or rescue partner by December 22nd. Please read Mystic's notes from shelter staff and volunteers below to see if she may be a fit for you! On 12/14, Mystic's office foster noted: "Mystic is still such a great office companion. She has settled in so well and loves greeting everyone who visits the office. She likes to greet people by jumping on them and licking their face, but it's just an expression of her love of human buddies! She is quite well housetrained, and will use her puppy pads overnight. She gets nervous sometimes while walking outdoors and will plant herself in one spot and be unwilling to walk. In these instances, I've been able to coax her to continue or carry her if needed. She seems to enjoy being carried, and is a total lap dog!" On 12/10, Mystic spent a few days with a foster parent, who said they loved having her in the home! The foster parent noted: "Just wanted to send in an update on Mystic. She's been awesome and seems to really enjoy her weekend staycation. She's been relaxing, lounging on the couch with me, and cuddling right up to me as soon as I sit down. She is perfectly potty trained and she is great at letting you know when she's ready to go outside. She warmed up to eating today and enjoyed some good sniffs around South Philly. She does not like high car traffic areas and tends to freeze when people are talking loud, yelling, or if there's a loud car, so we tried going down smaller streets which was fine. She is adamant about going the way she wants to go on the leash, but with some encouragement and light leading on the leash I was able to gain good control and enjoy a long walk this afternoon! She has been pooping and peeing regularly. Mystic does seem to have some skin irritation and scabbing on her butt right above her tail. She's been licking and nipping at it since I picked her up, so I wiped it down with a wet paper towel to clean it and moisturized with a bit of coconut oil. She hasn't touched it much since. She was good with handling, but jumped a bit when I stood over her so I invited her to lay with me on the couch to do so and she was calm. Mystic has been a dream to hang out with!" On 12/3, a volunteer praised Mystic for how tolerant and sweet she is! They wrote: "I had Mystic out for the photoshoot today and WOW she is incredible! She's so so affectionate - the second you start petting her, she rolls onto her back and shows her entire belly for rubs! It's adorable! She was so very tolerant of us putting her in a full outfit for the holiday photo shoot. She was so wiggly and excited to get all of the attention from the many volunteers who were swooning over her. I'm so happy to have met her - she's a wonderful pup!" On 11/28, Mystic's office foster noted that while she is a well behaved girl, she can have a mischievous side too - especially when tasty treats are involved! They wrote: "Tiny little pip squeak with a personality of her own. A vocal little senior gal who enjoys pulling Smuckers PB&J wrappers from the trash." On 11/26, Mystic's office foster noted: "Mystic LOVES belly rubs! She's a very silly girl who loves when people come to the office door and pet her, and then when they walk away she'll bark at them since she wants more attention." On 11/20, Mystic's office foster noted: "Mystic has been a total angel in the office. She greets everyone who comes to the door so politely, and she LOVES to snuggle and get belly rubs. If you have a treat for her, she'll sit without being asked, then takes the treat to her bed and lays down to eat it. She is such a mellow old girl, very easygoing, and low maintenance." Mystic had a veterinary exam on 11/20 as well, and was well behaved overall and tolerant of the examination. Staff had this to say about the interaction: "Mystic did very well during her veterinary exam with the vet and vet nurse! Mystic was excited to see them with loose body language and a wagging tail. She put her paws up on them and solicited attention. I did let them know that she seems sensitive around her hind end (not reactive but flinches sometimes when it is touched). However she allowed them to examine her and handle her for the brief five-minute exam with no issues, and was very sweet and social throughout the interaction." On 11/19, staff had this to say about Mystic's behavior: "Easy to leash. Mystic was outside of her kennel, as it was being cleaned. She greeted me with soft eyes and a wagging tail. She was very patient while we exchanged leashes. Pulls minimally on leash. Loose/allows all handling; Mystic approached me slowly with soft eyes and giving low tail wags. She leaned against my legs and allowed all over handling. Whenever I called her over she would run up to me and lay in my lap, giving me kisses! Such a sweet lady. Toys/tag - no interest." Mystic's office foster noted on 11/16: "Yesterday after I witnessed Mystic trembling in her kennel, I came back about 30 minutes later. This time Mystic sat up and gave a few low tail wags. I opened the kennel door and she allowed me to approach her in kennel and leash her. She slowly exited the kennel - walks very slowly, and has a stiff gait. It took us about 15 minutes to walk from her kennel, outside through the play yards, and over to the welcome center outdoor kennels. Like many senior dogs, she took her time on the walk and would stop and sniff everything carefully - she did not respond to gentle leash pressure when I tried to redirect her from something she was sniffing. She had loose body language throughout our walk, and would approach me periodically with tail wags, and would respond when I called to her. However, she mainly was independent and sniffed around on her own. After our walk, we went into the volunteer office and I let her explore a bit. She sniffed around the room slowly and approached the male volunteer in the room with no issues, had loose body language and gave some tail wags. No interest in toys. I sat on the floor with her and she came over and laid down in my lap, wagging her tail and allowed handling all over, including her feet, tail, belly, face, and ears. She sat in my lap for maybe 5 minutes. When returning her to her kennel, she sniffed the other neighboring dogs with interest. She was reluctant to reenter the kennel and I did have to lift her in by her harness - possibly it was difficult for her to step up due to her age. Overall, a sweet, affectionate, but independent senior!" On 11/16, staff wrote: "Easy to leash, social. Shy but allowed me to leash her and enter her kennel. She stood up and gave low tail wags. Doesn't pull [on leash]l, but doesn't respond to leash pressure either and will plant herself firmly if she's not ready to move at that time. Loose, allows all handling; let me pet her all over, laid across my lap, allowed handling of feet, ears, tail, and belly." On 11/15, staff noted: "Unable to complete check in due to behavior. She is extremely reactive to restraint. She growled and thrashed her head with muzzle on." Another staff member noted of the same interaction: "Was called to medical intake and told Mystic had freaked out with her vaccines and begun snapping. She had tolerated all handling beforehand, ACA even said she picked her up. When I came in, Mystic greeted me with mid level wags, allowed handling from me. I asked if I could just see what her reaction was, and we were able to get another shot in and then she began low growling which escalated over time. She growled at the nurse when she approached to give her squirt up the nose, but I was able to get it in and vet nurse gave her Vectra as well. When I went to remove the muzzle she did growl upon me touching her neck, but seemed to think I was about to restrain her for a shot. She immediately stopped when I was unbuckling it. She shook off afterwards and gave some low wags and let me pet her head, but was understandably more tense and on edge. She is very stubborn on leash! She is not super motivated to follow her handler, wants to sniff at her own speed and is set on the direction she wants to go in. She did pancake occasionally in the kennels and outside her H row kennel as well, but tolerated ACA lifting her. Staff were able to complete Mystic's vaccinations and examination the next day with minimal issues or concerns. However, based on the behaviors shown during her initial examination, it is recommended to use caution during future veterinary visits and vaccinations." When it comes to other dogs, Mystic is generally social, though she seems to prefer calmer dogs who match her laid-back senior energy. On 12/14, staff noted: "Mystic was muzzled for playgroup due to being forward and tense at the gate when initially meeting the other dogs - she immediately greeted the two other dogs in the yard and play-bowed. The male dog mounted her and she gave an over correction. The other dog continued to mount her and follow her around the yard and she continued to correct him and move away. The male continued to be pushy. She was very tolerant of the female and allowed sniffing, but would correct when she felt overwhelmed. She had a low wagging tail during her time in the yard." A staff member also noted a dog meet interaction on 11/27: "Volunteer was outside with Fico in a play yard, I was walking Mystic nearby. We did a fence meet, Fico greeted Mystic with excited body language, wagging tail, sniffed muzzles through fence. Fico quickly became frustrated and began to bark at Mystic. When Fico started barking, Mystic moved away from the fence." Mystic had a veterinary exam on 11/20, which noted mild dental calculus and staining, possible degenerative joint disease, and sometimes needle-reactive behaviors in the shelter environment. Mystic developed an upper respiratory illness on 11/26, which was successfully treated with antibiotics and has since resolved. VIDEOS Mystic LOVES belly rubs!: https://youtube.com/shorts/ngTQzyd7gCU?feature=share Sweet Mystic: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Go_TBltK67g?feature=share Mystic the Sugar Plum Pittie: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/7ixwtIH8GcI?feature=share Polo and Mystic walk-along dog meet: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/iCfzkwdUC9E?feature=share Kool meets Mystic (dog meet): https://www.youtube.com/shorts/zKnFrnzqWsw?feature=share Mystic and Vader dog meet: https://youtu.be/gJBpevIdKos Handsomest Man and Mystic dog meet: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/E_GG5Kw1D20?feature=share All animals at ACCT Philly are from Philadelphia, as the only open intake animal shelter in Philadelphia, we are not able to accept animals from outside of Philadelphia. ACCT Philly's Pennsylvania kennel license number is 08313
If you have any questions or would like to adopt Mystic, please reach out to the adoption group directly. PetSmart Charities does not facilitate the adoption process. Thank you.
adoption group
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