Junior

My story

MEET JUNIOR — BIG LOVE, BIG ENERGY & AN ABSOLUTELY UNHEALTHY RELATIONSHIP WITH BALLS Hi, I’m Junior! I’m three years old, full of loving energy, ridiculously entertaining, incredibly smart, and I have one very important thing you should probably understand before we go any further. BALL IS LIFE. I don’t care if it’s a soccer ball, tennis ball, squeaky ball, or some mysterious ball-shaped object you found underneath the couch. If it rolls, bounces, or looks remotely throwable, I have already decided it is the greatest thing that has ever happened to me. My foster family has been working hard to convince me that there are other wonderful things in life, and while I remain skeptical, I’m willing to hear them out. I LOVE BIG AND I INTRODUCE MYSELF THE SAME WAY When I meet another dog, I tend to come in a little hot because subtle introductions aren't exactly my specialty. I'm excited, curious, and I want to sniff EVERYTHING immediately, so my first hello can feel pretty intense. It isn't because I'm looking for trouble; I just have the enthusiasm level of someone who has been waiting his entire life to meet the dog standing in front of him. With more submissive dogs, I get my intensive investigation out of the way and then generally go about my business. My foster sister Polly is more submissive, and after giving her the full Junior sniff-down, I mostly leave her alone and do my own thing. YOUR DRAMA DOESN'T HAVE TO BECOME MY DRAMA My foster brother Bob isn't particularly impressed with me and makes his feelings pretty clear, but interestingly enough, I don't really care. My foster family has tried parallel walks and worked on helping everyone become more comfortable, but Bob still gets worked up and barks at me. I remain remarkably unaffected by the whole situation because apparently one of us has decided to be mature about this. My rescue will still want appropriate, structured introductions with any future dog siblings because my excitement can be a lot at first, but I have shown that another dog's barking doesn't automatically mean I need to participate in the argument. BALL IS THE BEGINNING AND THE END I love treats and toys, but balls exist in an entirely different category. A ball can get my attention faster than just about anything else on Earth, which is both extremely useful and occasionally a problem. If I have a ball when it's time to go outside to potty, there is a very real possibility that I will completely forget why we went outside in the first place. This is why my humans are working on commands like "drop it" and "leave it," because apparently there are moments in life when I am expected to focus on something besides my favorite round object. I don't necessarily agree with this philosophy, but I'm learning. SMART BOY, JUST PUT THE BALL AWAY FIRST I'm incredibly smart and very trainable as long as you understand how easily I can become distracted by a ball. Once that distraction is removed, my brain comes right back online and I'm ready to work. My foster family has been teaching me "leave it" and "drop it," and instead of encouraging tug-of-war, we've discovered that I absolutely love playing hide-and-seek. Sniff mats are another great way to keep my brain working without winding me up, and having activities that require me to slow down and think has been really good for me. Whoever adopts me is getting a dog with tons of potential, but you'll need to continue giving my brain something productive to do. STRUCTURE IS MY LOVE LANGUAGE This part is extremely important because I'm the kind of dog who benefits tremendously from having a confident human leader. Please don't bring me home, decide I'm adorable, throw every rule out the window, and baby me into believing I've just been elected mayor of your household. If you do that, I will happily turn your living room into a dog park and undo all the hard work that's already gone into helping me learn how to settle and make good choices. Leadership doesn't mean being harsh with me; it means being consistent, setting boundaries, following through, and helping me understand what's expected. I thrive when somebody else is confidently running the show so I don't have to. MY BACK LEGS HAVE COME A LONG WAY When I came into rescue, there were concerns about my back and the possibility of IVDD because my hind end wasn't functioning the way everyone wanted it to. I would slide out and sometimes drop down onto my butt, so Freedom Frenchie Rescue started working hard to support my mobility and keep me moving safely. Chiropractic care became an important part of that plan, and the improvement has been amazing. I'm walking so much better, my legs stay underneath me when I run, and I'm stretching, scratching, moving around, and yes, farting like a perfectly respectable French Bulldog should. CHIROPRACTIC CARE IS PART OF ADOPTING ME I started with frequent chiropractic appointments while everyone worked on getting my body more comfortable and stable, and because I've responded so well, those appointments have now been able to be spaced farther apart. My ongoing chiropractic care will be a requirement of my adoption because everyone has worked too hard to get me moving this well to simply stop supporting my body once I'm adopted. My future family needs to understand that maintaining my mobility and watching for any changes in my back or hind legs will remain an important part of caring for me throughout my life. I RUN NOW, AND THAT'S A PRETTY BIG DEAL One of the best things about all this work is watching me RUN. My legs stay underneath me now instead of sliding out the way they once did, and my morning backyard play sessions have become one of my favorite parts of the day. Before the Arizona heat kicks in, my foster family takes me outside for a little soccer and fetch, which helps burn off some of my morning energy and makes it much easier for me to settle afterward. Seeing me race after a ball probably looks like normal dog stuff to most people, but considering where I started, watching those legs work underneath me is something my rescue will never take for granted. CALL ME MICHAEL PHELPS, BUT PUT MY LIFE JACKET ON I also LOVE swimming, and it has turned out to be a fantastic activity for me because I'm getting to have fun while also working those legs. I swim wearing my life jacket, and my foster family tries to get me into the pool in the evenings whenever possible. Swimming gives me another healthy outlet for my energy while providing great low-impact exercise for my hind end, so as far as I'm concerned, physical therapy is pretty awesome when somebody disguises it as pool time. POTTY TIME REQUIRES A BALL-FREE ZONE I'm doing really well with my potty routine and will actually sit by the door when I need to go outside. My poop schedule is becoming pretty predictable too, which apparently is the kind of information rescue people get extremely excited about. Nobody knows yet whether I understand how to use a doggie door, but I do know how to communicate that I need to go out. There is just one important rule: take the toy or ball away first. If I walk outside carrying my beloved ball, my bladder apparently ceases to exist and I've forgotten the entire purpose of our trip before we've made it through the door. I HAVE ENERGY, BUT I ALSO KNOW HOW TO SETTLE I absolutely love attention and being involved with my people, but I don't require someone to entertain me every second of the day. Once I've had some exercise, mental stimulation, and appropriate Junior time, I can settle while my humans handle the unfortunate non-Junior responsibilities in their lives. That's one of the things that makes me such a fun dog to live with because I can bring plenty of energy and personality without needing the entire household to revolve around me every waking minute. Although, for the record, I remain open to a household revolving around me if anyone would like to try it. DON'T LET MY EXCITEMENT FOOL YOU There is a really loving dog underneath all this energy. I adore attention, enjoy being with my people, love having fun, and have made tremendous progress because the humans around me have given me structure instead of simply letting me do whatever I want. I don't need someone who sees my enthusiasm and decides the answer is more chaos. I need someone who sees how smart I am and continues teaching me how to channel all that excitement into good choices. Give me boundaries, exercise, brain games, affection, and appropriate breaks from my beloved balls, and you're going to see just how incredible I can be. YOU'RE GOING TO LAUGH A LOT WITH ME Whoever adopts me is getting one seriously entertaining dog. I'm smart, affectionate, goofy, energetic, trainable, obsessed with balls, surprisingly unfazed by other dogs throwing opinions in my direction, and always ready to make something fun happen. We've worked incredibly hard on my mobility, my manners, my routine, and teaching me that life contains wonderful things that aren't spherical. I need a family willing to protect that progress instead of starting over, because the Junior you see today is the result of a lot of love, consistency, and work. MY FUTURE NEEDS TO BE JUST AS GOOD AS MY PROGRESS I'm three years old, loving, smart, potty trained, toy obsessed, treat motivated, dog social with proper introductions, and finally moving the way everyone hoped I could. My potential IVDD and back history mean my future family needs to take my mobility seriously, continue my required chiropractic care, keep me lean and appropriately active, and pay attention if anything about the way I walk or move changes. In return, you're getting a dog who will keep you laughing, love being part of your life, play soccer in the yard, swim in his life jacket, work that smart little brain, and remind you approximately 600 times a day that somewhere in this house there is probably a ball nobody is currently throwing.

If you have any questions or would like to adopt Junior, please reach out to the adoption group directly. PetSmart Charities does not facilitate the adoption process. Thank you.