CRUSADER Border Collie & Australian Kelpie Mix Yakima, WA

THE PERFECT "GO EVERYWHERE DO EVERYTHING" ADVENTURE BUDDY

This guy is a great travel size and perfect to take along on all your life adventures but let's start with his back story and get that out of the way.

We saw on social media, that a couple black pups had been dumped in a rural area about 30 miles away from us. As these social media things go, there were dozens of comments from people thinking somebody should do something, while other comments claimed somebody WAS doing something, clogging up the ability to follow what was going on so when a week later, another post showed up stating the two pups were still fending for themselves, we sent a volunteer out to pick them up. Unfortunately, one of them had been hit by a car and killed, the same morning we arrived. That left sweet Crusader.

Surprisingly, our volunteer uttered a few sweet talk words and he practically crawled in her lap. We had read that the reason they were still out there, is that they were wary and hard to catch. Perhaps, without his friend, he was just scared and lonely and ready to be caught, so she loaded him up and he came home with us.

This dog is so fun. He is bright and smart and perpetually happy, to say nothing of quite easy on the eye, even in his current awkward adolescent stage. His coat is jet black, wavy, uber soft and brilliantly shiny and he always has a smile on his face. He loves car rides, is fabulous on a leash, crate trained and housebroken and is confident enough to embrace adventure, wherever it takes him. For example, just a week after we picked him up, we took him to an offsite fundraising event, two hours from home and he loved every minute of it, making tons of friends, with his sweet personality. He is the perfect size for travel or for those just looking for a bigger feeling dog in a smaller package, currently weighing 28lbs at eight months of age. He should not mature to more than 35lbs. He has good energy, willing to head out for a hike or a car ride to Home Depot, or hang out at home, with a food puzzle or chew toy or just on the couch, next to you (which he loves). He would be the top student in any training class and win hearts along the way. He is just a sweet, kind, goofy, intelligent, willing, fun and happy guy who needs a friend and leader to go through life with.

In his foster home, Crusader lives with a variety of dogs in all shapes, sizes and genders. His favorites to play with are those more like him in size, age and personality but he has been witnessed, getting some of the older, lazier guys to play with him too, out of sheer persistence. Due to his time on his own, he can be intimidated by bigger dominant dogs and puts up a brave front of hackles up, growling and either submissive postering or terror flight, when approached by them. We have kept him separated from those type, not wanting to break down his confidence by having to submit to them and as time goes by, have witnessed him playing chase, up and down the fence line that separates them, with tails up and happy faces for all. He will need a human who understands the importance of advocation, when their dog is being put into uncomfortable situations and since this is not a common knowledge trait for the average dog owner, we would love for him to just not have to deal with bigger, dominant dogs in his new home.

He is very good with and loves the children living in his foster home. They are boys, six and twelve who have grown up with a grandma in dog rescue, who has hammered into them, proper behavior around dogs, especially new or strange ones. Recently though, while at the park for an outing, a young child rushed at Crusader, screaming, which caused him to get worried and growl, seeking shelter behind his foster's body.

KNOW YOUR KIDS!!

If you have not taught them proper behavior around a new dog, he may not be the dog for. If your children do not understand that dogs are not toys and possess ears, eyes and TEETH that function for reasons of protection and defense, we are going to ask that you keep looking. Better yet, work on developing better habits in your kids, for their own protection, before continuing your search for a family pet.

Cats??

Full disclosure, Crusader was returned by his first adopter for being too aggressive with the resident cat. We are not sure the circumstances that led to the scuffles but in an abundance of caution and out of respect for the preexisting pet in the home, he came back to us, with our full approval. In his current foster home, he resides with three very confident, dog savvy cats and while he does indeed, love to pester them, has yet to display aggression and responds immediately to a firm "LEAVE IT" when he is finding the kitties a wee bit too interesting for their tolerance levels. Different homes offer differing dynamics and training/handling abilities. Since we cannot predict either, we are going to ask for a cat free home to better set him up for a successful acclimation.

If you would like to be considered for this amazing pup, please go to our website at www.allmuttsgreatandsmall.org/adoption and submit your application. We would love to hear why you think you make a great candidate to be this guy's best friend and adventure buddy or why your family needs him to be part of it. With approval, we will arrange a "date" and see if the sparks fly.

Crusader is neutered, up to date on five way and rabies vaccines, fecal checked and cleared of intestinal parasites, flea/tick free and microchipped. He is ready to join you for some fun and adventure and tons of snuggles and treats.

Adoption fee is $325




PLEASE NOTE*:

* We require notes from certified doctors when
requesting a dog as an ESA
*Inquiries submitted through Petfinder, are not the
same as applications submitted through our webpage.
*Yes we do out of state adoptions.
*No, we do not transport. You must be willing to come
and meet the dog and take it home with you.
*Yes we do Canadian adoptions.
*If the dog is on Petfinder, it is still available.
*You must be 18 years of age to adopt
*If you submit questions about an adoptable dog,
covered in the Petfinder bio, we will not respond.
*We do not pick the first good application. We pick the
most suitable application for the dog, out of all
submitted.
*All correspondence is handled via email as time allows.
* If you are not chosen, you will not be notified

For a more detailed explanation of our adoption process, go to www.allmuttsgreatandsmall.org/adoption and read "The Adoption Process" link