Melody's adoption donation is $325 and she is being fostered in Central Ohio.  She has been spayed, microchipped, received her rabies, distemper/parvo, canine bivalent influenza, and bordetella vaccines, tested negative for heartworms and is on prevention, as well as flea prevention.  She has also had a dental cleaning with extractions.  A SECURELY, FENCED YARD IS REQUIRED FOR ANY POTENTIAL ADOPTER AS WELL AS A COMPANION DOG TO HELP MELODY CONTINUE TO LEARN NORMAL DOG BEHAVIOR.  

Melody is an approximately 7 yr old shih tzu that came into rescue from a puppy mill.  She has a quiet personality but is really starting to come out of her shell.  Most mill dogs don’t understand that being touched can be loving and this is something that she is learning.  She initially could not make eye contact with you, but in the last 2-3 months, she has come so far and is really learning how to love life outside of a 2 x 2 cage!  Melody has learned to run up and down the hall; she likes the chase game (she has gotten more active with it, and is doing play bows, and barking playfully!); she is a good eater, and is learning about treats.  She has discovered outside, and likes to go in and out to the patio.  Sometimes she lays in the sun or at the open door, but other times, she has walked around the entire fenced yard, including in the grass.  She handles a couple steps fairly well, though she is still working on her confidence with steps.  She is doing so well on house training with a consistent schedule, but more patience is needed to continue her training. As she has relaxed, she has been playing with the other dogs! Melody has also been seeking out her foster family, whether it is in the living room in the evenings, and in the other rooms during the day.  She will come up to a dog or her foster mom, and sniff with her tail wagging hard! This is a huge break-though. She is still more fearful of men but in a patient home, she will come around.  While Mill dogs tend to startle easily, she is learning that many new sounds are not scary, including thunderstorms.  She does requires a securely fenced yard and she isn’t a good match for an apartment setting.  Since they learn best from other dogs and do so well with them, we do require a companion dog of similar size in a quieter home.  If those big eyes are talking to you, then maybe Melody is the gal for you.

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.