POLO – Looking for his best chance
All about POLO – Looking for his best chance
Chip No: 250268732515087
Date of birth: 21 February 2018
Breed type: Labrador X
Vaccinated: Yes with passport
Sterilised: Yes
Ok dogs: Yes
Ok cats: Maybe
Ok children: No
Weight: 19kg
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Meet POLO, a 4 year old labrador cross looking for his new home.
“Once understood, Polo is a real ray of sunshine”.
We have been asked to help find him a loving home following his rehabilitation. It’s been a long nine-month journey for POLO – a long time in any dog’s life and quite naturally he believes he “lives and belongs” where he is right now. Another change will be tough for him so we are looking for a special home that will accept a slow transition with perhaps several visits. Therefore we are looking for a family with a geographic limitation of realistically 1.5 hours max around 36310 – thus a circle Limoges, Poitiers, Vierzon, Montluçon as maximum points. We need to give this boy the best chance of success, retaining his confidence and joie de vivre.
POLO’S PROGRESS
Here he is doing something that would have been impossible for him to cope with a few months ago – sitting on a busy street with his friend and companion watching the world go by without getting stressed, angsty and totally overcome. Just wonderful to see.
WHO IS POLO?
POLO has always been, and continues to be a joyful dog, who enjoys long walks, playing with his guardians and the other dogs, dozing in the sunshine. He is a very responsive dog, easy to train, keen to learn and largely obedient. Food is one of his favourite things and he has proved responsive to reward based training. He enjoys the company of others and, like many of us, also enjoys a bit of alone time. He is clean and calm in the house, calm in the car, and sleeps happily alone in a comfy bed overnight.
Here he is out with his pack, offlead and being recalled through the other dogs! Quite impressive. You can see clearly that he has a lab type head and body . . . but borrowed the legs from someone else as they are quite short. This makes him a more “compact” lab type!
POLO’S STORY:
This poor lad has had a rough old start to life. Another story sadly of being passed from pillar to post, in unsuitable accommodation, left to run free wherever or locked in a garage for hours on end. Exactly the sort of situation to lead to a very confused and overwhelmed dog.
Taken in by extremely loving and well-meaning people their particular environment sadly led to an escalation of his overwhelm, particularly with one of the resident dogs. Given unhelpful advice and even unhelpful medication, and despite the best efforts on their part, the situation became untenable.
Now what is to be really really applauded is that they did not give up on him at that point, but instead have paid for him to be in a rehabilitation pension since November 2022 in order that he can become an adoptable family dog again . . . and that is where he is right now. This is where LES AMIS have been asked to enter the arena and help him find a loving home.
During his time living in the rehab pension POLO has learned how to manage his emotions – something that he had missed out on in his early life. This has helped him improve beyond measure. He lives in a house with other dogs also there for training, and he regularly comes across other animals on the farm too, such as goats, pigs and cats – he shows no signs of aggression. He is described today as a “relaxed, zen little dog” with “little to reproach as far as daily life in the home is concerned” and our favourite quote:
“Once understood, Polo is a real ray of sunshine”.
We hope that we can find a family for him that is indeed willing to understand him and to continue his process of learning. A person in whom POLO can develop faith and trust and so develop a fantastic bond enabling him finally to become the dog he can truly be.
Who would be POLO’s perfect family?
- Certainly a family with a quiet life who are prepared to accept him for who he is – and that is a dog who really does not appreciate being picked up and messed around with like a cuddly toy. That has not been a positive imprint on his life. Hence a family with no young children.
- In other words he wants a home where he can be a dog – a dog that is cared for as a dog should be – the complete opposite of his early life.
- A home in the countryside with the opportunity for long walks with his humans – and ideally the company of another dog or two.
- A family willing to continue his development process in what will hopefully be his permanent environment – so at least one family member who is confident and competent (or willing to learn) in reinforcing what he has already learnt.
If you think you might be a match for POLO and would like to start a conversation about him, please complete the application form by following the link on this page or if you are already known to us, drop us a line at enquiries@lesamisdesanimaux.com.
POLO is currently in his rehab home in Department 36 (Indre) – and we feel that in order to ease the transition, it would ideally be a family who would be able/prepared to meet him a few times, take him for a walk and generally get to know him. The change of environment is going to be a sensitive period and it can be made much easier for him.
