Goku was surrendered by his 3rd or maybe 4th owner to Minneapolis Animal Care and Control after coming up from Oklahoma during Covid. The original adopter gave him away and within an 18 month period, he has been in at least 6 different “home” environments (incl shelters).

This created a LOT of chaos for this boy, and that’s evident by his behaviors. After almost 4 months in the shelter, Goku was deteriorating and due to the fact that he was deemed unadoptable in his current behavioral state, Goku was scheduled for euthanasia.

Right now he shows defensive aggression – especially when on leash. After he has time to decompress and build trust in our behavioral rehabilitation program, he will learn how to look to his handler and trust he is ok instead of lunge and bark in the direction of the stimulus that he is fearful of..

Goku is not a perfect dog and he’s not move-in ready for just any home. But he has been handled by about 20 people (of various dog handling skill levels) within and outside the shelter we pulled him from and has no bite history during that timeframe, despite having ample opportunity.

 

We felt Goku deserved a chance and was the perfect candidate for our Behavioral Rehabilitation Program. We bring dogs (and cats) deemed unadoptable by shelters due to behavior, “back to school” and work with them giving them the time they need to learn to trust, feel some stability. They slowly start to dust off the tarnish that was their past and shine the way they were meant to.

 

Goku is doing amazing and is with our Behavarioal Rehabilitation partner Follow Me Dogs.

 

He is learning “place” and to control sudden urges.

He is doing nose work. Staying enriched and engaged.

He is getting exercise inside…..

and outside…..

 

Goku is doing really well in our program. He has shown to be an insanely smart, high-octane, playful, and spirited dog who is eager to please and follow. He knows several commands and when paired with a confident handler, is a dream on a leash.

 

This was a dog so deteriorating in the shelter he was hours from euthanasia. Just look at him now!

 

Once he is ready for adoption he will take an experienced dog owner and home. We will be careful and mindful in our match-making process for Goku, but we believe he will find his perfect home and deserves to be in it.

He’s not perfect, but who is? We felt he’s worth the chance. Welcome to Pet Haven Goku!

The support Pet Haven is building for this program is heartwarming and we have partnered with several trainers and board and train facilities that want to help our dogs. We are building and training our foster base that is up for the challenge of dogs that need behavior rehabilitation. The dogs that come to us are often at the end of the road. We offer them a chance to shine. Sometimes this happens quickly, sometimes it can take a long time, but we give them the space, time, structure, and love to learn to trust and heal. Please consider a gift to our program that will have a lasting impact on many lives!