This week’s featured dog is Dede, a petite pit bull mix. She looks to be part hound and is just a baby still at six-twelve months old. She has the most endearing face and sad eyes, but honestly she is a happy, social girl.

Little Dede was found running loose on the streets all by herself and was brought into the ACCT shelter on October 13, 2011. When she came in, she was totally emaciated and weighed only 20 pounds! She also had a horrible case of fleas, which caused some hair loss on her back. Since she’s been at the shelter, Dede looks so much better. She has put on a few pounds and her fur is coming back in.

Despite having a rough start in life, Dede is a happy, friendly girl. Rather than getting depressed at the shelter, she has actually brightened over time. It’s so sad to know that the shelter is probably the best ‘home’ she’s ever had. But now she has a chance to start over.

Dede adores people and although she’s a bit submissive, she gets very excited to have people’s company. She approaches you with her head timidly low and her tail wagging like crazy! When you sit with her, she will try to snuggle up against you as close as she can get or climb into your lap for love and warmth. Even though Dede was pretty much starving when she came to the shelter, she takes food very gently and has no food aggression at all. She is a pleasant mannerly girl who never barks, whines, or growls.

Dede seems to be good with other dogs too. She was introduced to one of her shelter mates and she was very social and appropriate with him. She also has met other dogs while outside with her volunteer friends and she approaches them the same way she does people – timid yet very excited to say hello and interact.

If you would like to meet Dede and you have small children or other dogs, please bring them with you so they can meet Dede too. If you have cats, the shelter staff will test her to see how she reacts to them as well. You can’t help but love this dog and want to take care of her. For more information please email: Help4PhillysHomelessAnimals[at]gmail.com or stop by the shelter (111 W. Hunting Park Avenue, tel.: 267-385-3800).

A parrot was found on the 4700 block of Larchwood Ave. on Friday. If you think this is your pet please call 215-221-2129 with description.

Piggy is a 3-5 year-old terrier mix being fostered for the ACCT by West Philly resident Meagan Coneeny. Through no fault of her own, Piggy was surrendered to the shelter by her family when they were unable to keep her. She must have had a happy home, because she is one of the happiest and most good-natured dogs.

Piggy is a playful and energetic girl, and she loves to play and go for runs and walks, but she’s also very understanding when you need to stay in all day and work, and is very mellow in the house. All she wants to do is cuddle with you all day – she has absolutely no body handling issues. You can hug and squeeze her and give her belly rubs and she just loves it! This is a good sign that she would do well in a house with children. She has been gentle with the few children she has met while she’s been staying with Meagan.

Piggy has been living with two cats and is very good with them. She is friendly, but does not focus or fixate on them. She will curl up next to the older cat in the house sometimes and they will sleep together happily for hours. She is not very food motivated (and never shows food aggression), and has never stolen food or been otherwise destructive in her foster house. She even leaves the cat food alone! Piggy is well housetrained and crate-trained, and is very good with sitting and waiting. She pulls a bit on the leash, but is improving every day.

Piggy is a little picky with her doggie friends, so if you are interested in adopting her and already own a dog, you should schedule a dog meet to see how they get along. Sometimes her energy level can be a little intimidating to other dogs, although there are a few very mellow dogs that she gets along well with.

Please adopt this wonderful girl today! She is healthy, spayed, and up to date on her vaccines, so she is totally ready to go. She would be a fantastic addition to any family – prepare to be loved unconditionally by happiest dog in the universe!

Piggy needs a forever home before Thanksgiving!

Please contact Meagan Coneeny at mconeeny[at]vet.upenn.edu with questions or for more pictures. Adoption information can be found online at http://www.acctphilly.org/.

Reader Lisa has written to us expressing her concern about the increasing number of dogs without leashes in our area. She wrote:

“I’ve been noticing more and more people walking their dogs without leashes. Inside the bowl at Clark Park is an accepted location, but I’m talking about up on the sidewalk, in the north section of the park, and around the neighborhood. I am afraid this is a bad trend, and something bad is going to happen. My dog does not like when other dogs run up to him, even if they are friendly, so we stay out of the bowl. Today I had to leave the park altogether because two large dogs were roaming the sidewalks quite a distance from their apparent owners. How do I know if they are friendly or not, or how close I can get without them trying to meet my dog, or if they will run immediately to their owners if called? There are plenty of children (and adults) who are not fond of dogs either. It is likely that off-leash dogs make them uncomfortable also.

I’m sure the owners think their dogs are perfectly trained, always friendly, and thus special and safe enough to disobey the law. Many may be right, but certainly there are exceptions. Is it really fair to ask me to assume that any off-leash dog must be friendly and safe just because the owner obviously thinks it is? Can a parent be expected to promise their child that the 80 pound dog down the street is not going to run up to her? Everyone has the right to feel safe. That is the point of the leash law. I’m glad owners of social dogs have the bowl to let their animals run, but that should be the only place. What can we do? Post more leash law signs? Ask the police to give out tickets for a while? Or will a few good dog fights or bitten children solve the problem?”

Lisa adds that she does NOT want law enforcement to ticket dogs that are off-leash.  Also, with the number of dogs, it is remarkable how rarely we see missed droppings in the neighborhood.  The community is generally good at that.  However, she does not want “a few overconfident people to mess things up.”

This week’s featured cat is Jax, an adorable 12-14-week-old tuxedo kitten. Jax is currently in the window at Baltimore Pet Shoppe (4532 Baltimore Ave).

This kitten started life rough (in a weed-choked lot in West Philly), but despite that, is a super sweet, loving and trusting little guy. He has a mellow temperament, loves to play with toys, and is always happy to have his belly rubbed or be held for a cuddle.

Jax is neutered, vaccinated, microchipped, dewormed and flea treated. If you would like to meet him please stop by Baltimore Pet Shoppe, where Jax will stay for one more week. He is available for adoption through Project M.E.O.W. To request an online adoption application please email: projectmeowadoptions [at] gmail.com.

Henry, a big grey tabby mix cat (grey with darker grey stripes) has escaped from his home at 5012 Kingsessing Ave.

Henry has a white belly and chest. He is fairly social and usually comes when called by name.

Please contact Christina at 215-514-6630 or Brendan at 267-597-9679 if you see him wandering around the neighborhood.