Bernie

Profile

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10/7/05: Bernie has definitely had a rough month. He spent 3 weeks trapped under a door in the floodwaters in St. Bernard's Parrish in New Orleans. After he was rescued, he was picked out by a angel disguised as a RAGOM volunteer and brought back to Minnesota so he can get the special love he needs.

Bernie is an intact male between 6 and 7 years old. He has lost a lot of hair, is heartworm negative, skinny as a rail, and is being treated with a variety of medications. The vet isn't sure what exactly has caused his hair loss, so we are working on a variety of angles to figure that out. He is incredibly sweet, loves attention, and basically follows me from room to room and plops down wherever I'm working. He loves attention but isn't needy, crates well, and loves walks. He has had a few accidents in the house but I think it's more a result of the prednizone he is on (makes him drink a lot of water) vs. housetraining. He gets along well with my 2 dogs, although due to his unneutered state whenever he's feeling amorous they have told him in NO uncertain terms to get the heck off their back and don't try it again! He chased my cat a little at first but has responded well to being told no and then just looks curiously if I talk calmly to him. If the cat runs, though - he's all for a good game of chase! I think once he gets used to the cat that will go away.

Bernie has some food aggression (I would too if I had to go three weeks with no food!) but feeding him in a different room takes care of that. He also counter surfs, and I'm in the process of retraining myself to keep food off the counter. But, he is a VERY trainable dog and learns things very quickly.

Bernie is not adoptable as we are giving his owners time to find him, and giving him time to get better. In the meantime, he is soaking up all the love and attention he can get!

These 3 pictures are of Bernie just after arriving from Louisiana