Let’s say hello to our newest adoptable, Simon! Simon is a one-year-old pup hailing all the way from Mexico, where he met our team during a spay and neuter clinic that MUTTS assisted with in September. During the clinic, he approached the group and collapsed onto a patch of grass. Simon was in rough shape: extremely emaciated, missing patches of fur and struggling to breath. Luckily, he landed in the right place and a local vet was able to help Simon get back on his paws! Now that he’s had a little taste of life up north, Simon is ready to head home with the family of his dreams!

Simon is working hard on transitioning from street life to one where he is treated like the little prince that he is! He is currently living with two other dogs (one male, one female) and they have been instrumental in helping Simon learn the ways of family life. For starters, Simon is starting to get the hang of playtime. He loves to wrestle with his foster brother and has also picked up cues from his foster sister that roughhousing isn’t really her style. His social skills need a little tweaking, but given that he grew up on the streets, likely around other dogs, he’s pretty good at reading the room. Simon would benefit from having another dog around, as he is impressionable and has already learned some very good boy behaviours from his foster siblings. No sweat, though, if he ends up being a solo dog: he’s also very content to hang out with his human(s) … just be prepared to receive a lot of requests for affection!

For a pup who grew up in an unstable environment, Simon is very well-adjusted! He only needs a moment to exercise caution when meeting strangers, and if approached calmly, he’ll respond with some body wags and a ton of affection! Simon’s favourite party trick is standing on his hind legs and wrapping his paws around a human’s arm as if he’s giving a hug (or, alternatively, begging you to not ever, ever, ever leave his side)! His addiction to affection is definitely rooted in his fear of being alone. He really hates when his fosters leave a room without him and will make his opinion known with some barks or whines. That said, he has no issues with his crate and his fosters often utilize crate time to encourage Simon to learn to enjoy his own company.

Simon is doing his very best to learn some basic skills. His fosters have focused on training every day since he arrived! He is an extremely food motivated guy who will do literally anything for a treat, even just a crumb. He’s still learning some patience, but he is also eager to please, so his basic obedience should shape up nicely with time and consistency. Given that he is food motivated, he is prone to resource guarding (typical for a dog with a background like Simon), so his adoptive family must be prepared to help Simon unlearn these behaviours, especially if there are other dogs or children in the house.

Walking is another area where Simon is seeing improvements! If you give him a long lead, he will zig zag his way around town; if you hold him on a shorter leash, he will stay close but occasionally try to pull ahead. It also turns out that he’s biiiiiig into squirrels and nearly took his foster’s arm off when he spotted one! He really loves being outside and would benefit from having some space to run. Any adventure seekers looking for a canine companion should look no further than our pal Simon – those long legs were made for hiking!

Simon is aaaaaalmost potty trained. He’s had a few accidents inside, and since he’s a young dog who has never lived in a house, his fosters have been taking him out every two hours to ensure he knows that his business should be done outside. Simon is microchipped, neutered and up to date with his vaccines. He received a clean bill of health at his recent vet visit!

Life took a very good turn for Simon when he showed up on the steps of the spay and neuter clinic in Mexico and he’s ready to continue riding that good luck streak all the way home with his new family!

SOCIABILITY: Humans (adults; not yet kid tested), dogs and cats
ENERGY: Medium
QUIRKS: He is very springy – his long limbs are like pogo sticks! He also loves to wrap his paws around you and give hugs!
TRAINING NEEDS: Continued basic obedience, leash skills, continued socialization, continued potty training
WEIGHT: 27.5 lbs
MEDICAL NEEDS: None
FOSTER LOCATION: Brampton