🐶 Basics • Willow • Age / Size: 1 yr old, 30 lbs • Rescued in Texas 💛 Personality Snapshot • Describe in 3–5 words: Cuddly, gentle, smart, eager, loyal • Energy level (Low / Moderate / High): Moderate to high. Can walk for miles/keep up with any activity but fine with settling down when it’s time. • More people‑oriented or independent? Person-oriented (she picks her fav person!) • How do they handle new situations? A little cautious but brave and quick to warm up! 🐕 Social & Home Life • How are they with people (adults/kids/new people)? Shy but curious! She needs a little time before she’s comfortable getting pets, but she ended up stealing everyone’s heart at a small daytime gathering with friends • How are they with other dogs? Great! Very positive body language and has never vocalized (barked, growled, etc) at another dog. Played very nicely with my friend’s dog! • Cats or other animals (if known)? Seems fine as far as I can tell— she met my friend’s cat and just ignored her. • Behavior when left alone or when guests visit: Still working on being left alone—I think this is the area where she needs the most work! She is fine with guests (no barking), but just a little shy. 🎓 Training & Manners • Potty trained? Still working on this! For a new arrival to NYC, she is very good at doing her business outside—she doesn’t need a patch of grass and is fine w/ peeing on the sidewalk! • Crate trained? Happy to hang out in her crate with the door open but takes a moment to accept being crated for the night. Barks/whines for a bit but eventually settles. However, she overall feels positive about the crate and uses it as her safe space during the day! • Leash skills: Needs improvement but has potential! We’re working on this together and she’s already made good progress. • Commands known (if any): Sit! Currently getting the hang of down. She’s very smart and quick to learn! 🌞 Daily Life • Typical day with you: Short stroll immediately after waking up around 7:30. She eats half of her breakfast on the walk as we are working on our leash skills, and then eats the other half of her breakfast when we get back. We take a long walk around 12-2 PM (2-3 miles), and then usually 1-2 more short walks in the afternoon. I feed her dinner through some sort of mental stimulation — a food puzzle, training session, etc. Then another potty walk before bed around 10-11 PM. Before I put her in the crate for the night, I like to turn most of the lights off, have some quiet time, etc. to help her settle down and know it’s time for bed. This seems to help her settle into her crate a bit better • Exercise needs: Moderate to active. We are active people, and that has been enough for her, but I wouldn’t recommend her for someone looking for a couch potato. She’s still quite young and would do best with someone who wants to be active with her! • Favorite activities or toys: She loves to cuddle and be near her person. She’s also a major foodie and loves her food puzzle. 🌱 Growth Areas • Anything they’re still working on? Potty training, being left alone, leash skills. But she is so eager to please and very smart, so I think her progress on these things will be smooth. She’s still quite young and was previously a stray, so she is really doing amazing considering all these things! • What helps them succeed? She is super food motivated, even when a little nervous! She also does well with lots of patience and positive encouragement. 🏡 Ideal Home • Only dog / With dog / Either: Either! • Good fit for apartment living? Yes • Best type of household (active, moderate, calm): Moderate to active. • What kind of adopter would be the best match? Someone who works from home or can spend lots of time with her/bring her to the office. She is a Velcro dog and loves to go anywhere you go. 💙 Foster Note I thought Willow was going to take a while to warm up as she’s a bit skittish, but she immediately warmed up and is just the sweetest, cuddliest dog. She’s the kind of dog who chooses her person and will make you the center of her universe! She’s also sooo adorable and fluffy—almost looks like a German Shepherd puppy. INTERESTED IN ADOPTING? To adopt Willow, apply on our website www.truenorthrescue.org/adopt and email adopt.truenorthrescue@gmail.com to follow up on your application. PLEASE DO NOT EMAIL TO ASK IF HE/SHE IS AVAILABLE. IF THIS LISTING IS UP, THE DOG IS NOT ADOPTED YET. Also, we have a very high volume of applications and we are all volunteers. We cannot respond to every application personally. Please make sure your application gives us a good picture of your family and the life you plan on providing a dog from our rescue. We choose a home based on the BEST FIT for EACH dog and approve on a dog by dog basis. Thank you!