Desiree’s adoption donation is $275 and she is being fostered in Central Ohio.  She has been spayed, microchipped, received her rabies vaccine, distemper/parvo, bordetella, tested negative for heartworm and started on prevention.  She is also on flea and tick prevention.  Desiree has also had a dental.

This is Desiree.  She is a gold and white Shih Tzu who is about 5 years old and weighs 10 lbs.  Desiree was pulled from a Central Ohio kill shelter along with Danielle and Kendra, who were all three picked up as strays.  She is a sweet girl who was probably kept as a breeding dog and discarded when no longer useful.  She was severely matted when picked up by animal control and had to be shaved down.  She doesn’t really have a lot of leash experience but does better if a harness is used.  She is working on her housetraining and does best if kept on a schedule and we do recommend to any adopter to continue the crate training or at least confined when not home.  Desiree had to have a dental, probably the first in her life, and she lost 8-9 teeth.  Once her mouth finishes healing, she will be able to eat dry food just like any other dog and will not require a special diet.  Dry food will help to keep her remaining teeth cleaner. 

Desiree is still a bit shy so a quieter home with no small children would be best. Desiree doesn't fully understand that people can be good and loving but she has come a long way since she was first picked up from the shelter by OFP.  Desiree wants to be around people, but she is still very shy when being approached to be picked up.  She follows me around the house and will come when I call her and will stay by me when we are in the yard, but does better if she can go on her own versus someone picking her up all the time.  She is learning to trust people and she is so sweet.  Her little face could just melt your heart.  She will also require a fenced yard as she is still learning her leash skills.

PLEASE NOTE:   If you are viewing this biography on a website other than the Ohio Fuzzy Pawz website like Petfinder, Adopt-a-Pet, or another search engine (the OFP website is www.ohiofuzzypawz.com), not all information transfers to partner websites in some instances.  If you go to the  individual webpage of our dogs , you will be able to get more information each dog.

Visual breed identification in dogs can be unreliable so, in many cases, we are only guessing at the predominant breed or breed mix.  We get to know each dog as an individual and will do our best to describe each of our dogs based on personality, not by breed label.

Our Adoption Process

The adoption process has several steps involved. Please review prior to submitting an application. Our adoption process is detailed here:  http://www.ohiofuzzypawz.com/info/adoption

Our volunteers work very diligently to process each application and we try to ensure that we are making the best match possible for each dog.  We do not schedule meetings with dogs until an application has been approved.  It can take up to a few weeks to process an application or as little time as a few days, from the time you submit an application, please be prepared to adopt as we cannot hold dogs.

Special Requirements

Some dogs may have special requirements (for example, medications, a fence) -- if you apply for a dog, please be sure to read over the biography completely to see if there are any special needs and if you're home would be suitable.  If we indicate on the dog's biography that a fence is required, this means your home must have a physical fence.  Other dogs may require a "strong vet reference" which indicates that we are looking for a home that has a documented history of veterinary care with previous pets. 

The first step in our process is to submit an online adoption application at www.ohiofuzzypawz.com/forms.  The application MUST include the personal references and veterinary, grooming, and landlord references (if applicable) and their respective contact information.  If you do not include the references and the contact information, your application will be delayed as it CANNOT be processed.  Once the references have been successfully completed, a home visit is then scheduled when a rescue representative can meet all members of the family or residents of the home.  No application is approved prior to the home visit being done.   At that point, the Directors will discuss any and all applications on a foster dog and make a selection--in many cases, there are multiple applications for each dog, so please be understanding that our only priority is the successful placement of each of our foster dogs.

Out of State Adoptions

We do adopt out of state to outstanding applicants, however, our process requires a home visit, so out of state adoptions can take longer.  We do not ship our dogs, adopters should be prepared to pick up the dog in Central Ohio.