Size
(when grown) Small 25 lbs (11 kg) or less
Details
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Story
If you have looked at our website before, there is a chance you will have seen Markie. This 2 year old sweetheart was at the shelter for 10 months before he was adopted back in March 2019. Markie didn't show well at the shelter because he was very stressed out, so it took a special person to take a chance on him and as is the case most of the time with a dog who is one way at the shelter, Markie was totally different once he was in a home. Sadly, the special guy who adopted Markie ended up being allergic to his dander. Rather than bring him back to the shelter where we feared he would regress after having come so far, he waited until we found a special foster (who had another small dog!) to take Markie in. Markie was there for a couple months and now lives with a couple who have been fostering him since last fall. We asked Brian, who had Markie from March- May to do a write up of him and here is what Brian had to say: As a first time dog owner, I decided to look for alternative places to get a dog than traditional breeders. A friend of mine had adopted a dog from Heartland last fall and I was really taken aback with how hard the staff work there to give their dogs a good life, despite the nature of a shelter being difficult for all. The was very surprised with how well trained the dog, Lyle, is as well as how much he improved my life by spending time with him. I made the decision shortly after to adopt a dog from Heartland as well. I was looking for a dog with a good personality, kind of a goof-ball type, and certainly an "under dog - an individual that's distinctly unique, one that deserves a good life but hasn't found it yet. I found that dog in Markie. Markie has a condition where he sometimes loses balance, or gets excited and starts spinning, and can jump like you wouldn't believe! He will make everyone who meets him laugh, anywhere from jumping straight up to your chest level, or bouncing up and down on his back legs like a kangaroo. He does this when he's excited, like when I'd come home, or we were out for a walk and he would see another animal. He doesn't jump on you, but rather just straight up and down - you have to absolutely see it to believe it! It's incredibly endearing and SO cute. I had friends and family over, he does best if new people just ignore him and let him come up to them on his own terms when he's comfortable. He will bark at new people if startled, but isn't as temperamental as one could expect given his history, for example my hands-on 3 year old niece played with him just fine after an introductory period. He seems to prefer women, when I had family and friends over he would just attach onto women and preferred them petting him over myself. Overall my biggest suggestion is for new people to just move slow and deliberate around him until he's accepted them. Once he's relaxed and being pet by an individual, he does not like to be suddenly pet by a different person. I believe this has to do with him not like being startled once he's comfortable. He does become a bit possessive with who he bonds to, however won't snap at other people nearby unless they encroach too quickly on personal space with his human." In his current foster home with the couple he is very possessive of whichever one of them he is with. So we do think his ideal adopter would be a single person, and we would not place Markie in a home with young children who may not understand how startled he can get, and how he needs a slow approach. Markie can be with smaller dogs but he does react to dogs larger than him, he does not like them! Markie's generous foster parents have offered to sponsor his full adoption fee! If you are interested in speaking with Markie's foster mom about him please email Allyson@HeartlandAnimalShelter.org
