Billy was a pet store puppy who was purchased on impulse and surrendered to Furever After Small Dog Rescue at the age of fifteen months because he was not a good fit for his owner's lifestyle.  By that stage, he still wasn't house-trained and he had already developed some significant behavior issues including food aggression, separation anxiety and destructive chewing.  Billy was placed in a loving foster home and his dedicated foster mom worked tirelessly with him to help ameliorate these problems.  While in our care, Billy also developed a condition with his ears that had our vets perplexed.  He lost all of the hair on the tips of his ears and they were swollen, raw and bleeding.  There were many different theories about what might be causing these symptoms, but once we consulted a veterinary dermatologist, we were able to find the answers we needed to resolve the problem.  After spending six months in foster care, Billy had learned some basic obedience and had made tremendous progress in resolving some of his behavior issues.  He was ready to find his forever home!

Billy is now living with a wonderful new family in Richmond.  He has a Jack Russell brother named "Jake" and a Calico Cat sister named "Sara".  Billy's new mom and dad have lots of time to spend with him and they are willing and able to continue working with him.  They enjoy taking Jake and Billy for long walks and providing them with lots of exercise, which is one of the most important factors in helping active dogs to remain happy, healthy and well adjusted.  Billy has a fabulous new future ahead of him.

***An update from Billy's family:

“All is just peachy in Billy's world. It’s his 3 month anniversary tomorrow. Yay!  We think he's adjusted very well and yes we're a little bit smug about it. He's nesting right now and he doesn't like to be disturbed when he's nesting. He can be a very sensitive dog. He's still a little jumpy when startled. He hates being cold or wet...don't we all? When he needs to go out for potty he leaves his nest and comes to us. At first we thought he did this because he was lonely and wanted pats, but we found out the hard way he is just quietly letting us know it’s potty time. He is very subtle about alerting us to his potty needs so we must not ignore him. Do not ignore the dachshund! He's an easygoing wiener when all his needs are taken care of (walks, food and belly rubs) When we leave the house he gets a peanut butter kong. He can't wait for us to leave. It’s been quite a while since he's pined for his mom when she leaves the house although he'd rather she stayed with him always. Sometimes we call him Velcro because he sticks to her. His armpits are totally cleared. His skin was very sensitive to harnesses so we had to find one that doesn't touch the pits. Jake & Billy are getting along fine; we just have to be careful around food issues. Billy's very good in the car. Jake's not!”

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