A plea for Gunner - a dog who needs a little stability

Gunner is a stellar little dog who has had a string of bad breaks in his life - and he is a perfect example of why human-oriented pitties do poorly without a family. Gunner is severely stressing out and needs a calm and stable foster home for the next couple of weeks so the poor boy can relax...and we can find him the forever home he so desperately deserves.

We pulled Gunner out of the shelter back in Fall 2009. He was so stressed that he was exhibiting compulsive behaviour - spinning and biting his tail - and the shelter staff was becoming concerned. They called us and he aced his temperament assessment: Gunner is lovely and affectionate with people and absolutely ADORES children. He's very friendly with other dogs and can co-exist with a cat.

Gunner went to a wonderful, experienced foster home with three other dogs and a little boy, and thrived. His stress behaviour stopped completely and his foster mom said that if she didn't already have a full pack at home, she would have adopted him for sure.

A month later, Gunner was snapped up by a great family who adored him. Sadly we learned last month that due to a family emergency his owners were unable to keep him, and through no fault of his own Gunner is back in the program.

Because of the sudden return we've been unable to find him a permanent foster home and Gunner has had to move a couple of times. This, combined with the stress of leaving his family, has taken a toll on the poor boy and he's not doing well. He's still a loving and wonderful little man, but he is STRESSED and some of his shelter behaviours are returning.

With his happy personality and cute little eye patch, Gunner is often compared to Petey from the Little Rascals. He's a perfect breed ambassador and a little gentleman, and it's hard for us to see him in such distress.

Please help us help Gunner. If you know someone who can provide a calm, secure environment where he can de-stress for a couple of weeks, we can continue working to find him a home he never has to leave. He has lovely house manners, and he would do just fine in almost any kind of living environment (house, apartment, urban, rural, pets, children, etc) as long as there's not SO much stimulation that he becomes even more stressed.

Since his stress behaviours increase when left alone, it would be ideal to put him in an environment where he isn't routinely on his own for long hours.

Gunner is a GREAT dog who has had a rough start in life. Please help us put his days of stress and uncertainty behind him, and contact info@hugabull.com if you can provide a foster or foster-to-adopt home for him.