Plato, foster Bouvier available for adoption

Plato soon after intake.

Plato

I got e-mail on Oct 10 from an owner seeking to place a dog and from a vet tech seeking to help a client place a dog. To my relief both dogs were the same dog.

The owners original message was very brief : "I have a bouvier that I have to get ride of. I do not have the time that I thought I would have to work with him. My landlord is also pressuring me about getting ride of him what can I do? I live in nothern california."

The vet tech's message was much more detailed : " I pulled your email address off the web and hope you can put me in contact with someone near the Modesto, CA area. I am a veterinary tech who is interested in helping dogs in need of homes, especially decent purebreds. Today one of the clients at the hospital where I work asked me if I could help her locate a home for a Bouvier she can no longer keep. I told her to look for a rescue group on the network but I am afraid she won't follow through so I am doing some of the work for her and will call her with results. She rescued the dog a couple of years ago when its original owner couldn't keep it and her daughter wanted to take it on but the daughter has lost interest and the dog is not getting regular attention or grooming. He is a neutered male, about 4 yrs old and definitely purebred although I don't know if they have his papers. I saw him about a year agoand although he was underweight and had a hack job on his coat with no brushing since he'd been clipped, he had an amiable temperament and seemed in decent health. They've kept his vaccinations up to date.
I hope there is someone close by to take this fellow before he gets in worse shape. Thank you for your attention."

Of course I responded to both messages and soon had the owner's phone number.

Conversation with the owner proved much more informative. The dog was hers and her mother's. They had adopted him a year before from someone who no longer wanted him (that owner had gotten him for their children to show, but the children had lost interest ). She could not remember the surrendering owner's name , had never known the breeder's name, and did not have registration papers , but he definitely was a Bouvier.
Keeping him at her mother's home had become a problem because her mother has dairy goats and Plato liked to get into the goat's area and herd them around. He gave them the impression that he had definite ideas where he wanted to put the goats, but he was not being overly aggressive and had never injured a goat.
The other problem was foxtails, which they were unable to keep from invading the dog's body, and which they could not afford to keep having the vet remove. The daughter was a minimum wage worker, so I can see where vet bills would be a problem.
Daughter could not keep the dog at her rented home because the landlord wanted to do landscaping and the dog tended to dig the yard up. Backyard dog, bored and lonely.
The good news was that Plato is gets along well with other dogs, including puppies and old dogs. His attitude towards cats seems to be benign : if a cat is not running , he merely walks up and sniffs it and then walks away. (Yes, he will chase if the cat is running, but does not give impression of being aggressive about it.) Plato is also used to being around children as the mother runs a day care. He does tend to be a bit excited about meeting children, and he does tend to want to guard the child from adults. Minor behavior issues were digging and tending to jump up on people. Good on leash except for "wanting to sniff everything" and "loves riding in the car".

Sounds like a very nice normal Bouv to me. So many good traits and the only problems are ones any capable owner could resolve with modest effort. He does sound like he may have major herding talent. And for you cat owners, he sounds like a good candidate for being able to adjust to living peacefully with a cat.

A bit of e-mailing amoung the Bouvier Club of Northern California members soon got a fostering volunteer : Sue and Randy Allen, who have a small bording kennel in Ripon, not very far from Plato's owners. Below are excerpts from Sue's posts to me after picking up Plato. They adore him and are terribly tempted to keep him , but they already have 5 Bouvs and 2 Papillons, so it would be better for Plato to have a starring role in a home of his own.

(first message, day after intake) Thank you for the checklist will be helpful aswe have never done this before. Randy and I went out and spent some time with him this afternoon. He was a little more hesitate than of course he was at his old house..We let out our Nala (our wondergirl that was electrocuted when she was 3 months old): he was like a engineer on her butt, and he became a little bit more lively. We also let him out with our Harley.very sweet boy : they sniffed and were ok. He does look like he has foxtail everywhere..in his feet especially. We will probably just shave him down. And forewarning..we are not very good groomers, but we get the job done. Randy thought the foxtail looked soft and hopefully have not embedded themselves. Talk soon...Sue and Randy
 
(next messge, following day) Pam...got your phone message today..and yes Carol had sent us a Surrender form and we had the owner sign it, so we have that as well as micro chip info (she had not sent off form yet) and vaccination forms. We just went out to spend some time .We took Nala and Harley out...he seems intent on Nala's butt and wants to hump her : she is letting him know that is not appropriate. He took treats from Eandy's hand...We have a lot of dogs going home today at our kennel.so didn't get to bath yet. Will try first of week and yes we will try to get a before groomed picture because he's definitely all Bouv. Don and Cynthia Thames {very experienced breeders} are picking up their dogs today and they will also be able to vouch for his breed. Will talk soon...thanks for info..Sue and Randy

Plato in the Allen's bathtub.
Isn't that mural stunning !

Further information from the Allens over the next few days confirmed that Plato gets along well with a variety of other dogs. He is quite playful and is on the exuberant side with dogs and people. He's been given a basic exam by the Allen's vet and seems to be in good general health. None of the foxtails required veterinary removal.His heartworm test was negative, so now he will be on prevention. His Rabies and DHLPP shots were about a year ago, which means on the three year schedule most of the vets now recommend, he will be due in two years. I think the Allens also got him bordatella vaccination, since he is in a kennel situation, but check with them to be sure as I am saying this from memory , not from written notes.

Everyone who has seen him has confirmed that he is unquestionably a purebred Bouvier. Cropped ears and docked tail, in case you care, and a very nice looking dog as you can see from the photos.

If you'd like to talk to the Allens about him, their phone number is (209) 599-1714. I am not including their e-mail address because they have been having some problems with connections.

Sometime in early November , Plato's foster care will be taken over by one of our veteran foster people , Liz Schuler in Stockton. Her phone numbers are home (209) 941-2233 and cell (209) 601-3286 and her e-mail is obizzyb@comcast.net

If you have not already been interviewed by myself or by our rescue chairperson Carol McElheney, you will need to do so before being eligible to adopt. You can phone me, Pam Green, at (530) 756-2997 between 10 am and 6 pm or Carol at (916) 686-5650 or e-mail her at rngrs16n21@comcast.net. The Board of BCNC recently raised the club adoption fee for prime age dogs without known significant health or behavior problems to $500, and Plato would fall into that description.

UPDATE : 11/23/06 : Plato's foster care has changed to BCNC Rescue Team member Liz Schuler. Liz wrote the day after taking him as follows :

" I have only had Plato for since 5:00 last night. He had been adopted the day before from a previous BCNC Rescue adopter. She returned him promptly the next day because he stalked and seemed to want to "eat" her cats, growling and snapping. He looks for cats on our walks and will lounge at them if they are moving. The previous cat testing was done on a stationary cat I think. So his bio will have to be re-written. This is a dog with no manners and will run "rough shod" over all. He does seem to learn quickly but seems a bit "thick skulled". (No experience with training, I think) This is his behavior after entering a new home and I expect him to pick-up on the rules quickly. He exhibits separation anxiety when left alone, but will settle when "kept company".  Yes, he is very cute and loving but he is a big strong dog and needs a home with experienced dog owners who will be firm and be able to take the time to be consistent with obedience training. He will make a great house dog, but not a house with cats, sorry. "

Liz had told me on the phone that Plato had no leash manners and wanted to pull. She put a pinch collar on, and almost immediately he settled down and was much more easily controlled. So , basically this is an adult dog who is very friendly but very untrained. He needs an adopter with at least intermediate level or better training skills and "alphatude". The adopter who had him so briefly was a very kind and responsible person but did not have the needed skills ; her other Bouv was a very meek and submissive one. I did get to meet Plato briefly : he is very handsome and very friendly. He will be a treasure for an experienced person who is calm and benign but "no nonsense" type of leader. The previous info about his behavior with cats was that he was OK with a stationary cat but would chase a running one. It now seems that it is the latter part, the part about chasing, that really counts. So he will be available only to a non-cat home. And only to an experienced home that will be serious about training.

UPDATE : Plato's foster care has switched to our Rescue Chair , Carol McElheney. She says he is very well behaved now, a tribute to Liz putting him through a month of "boot camp" civilizing training. He did however manage to nab some freshly baked dog cookies that Carol (in a moment of inattention) had left within his reach. Count this as one more bit of evidence that wolves began to self-domesticate themselves by taking advantage of human left-overs.

UPDATE : Plato was ADOPTED just before Christmas and arrived at his new home Christmas Eve. I talked to his adopter, a very Bouv-savvy person, on Christmas Day and everything was going well and as planned. We'd talked and e-mailed for some time beforehand to discuss plans and alternate plans for his adjustment. She'd also talked to all his foster homes before driving up from LA to meet him and take him home.