This week’s featured dog is Precious, an (approximately) 18-month-old Terrier/Mix who was surrendered to ACCT by her former owner. Precious needs to find an adopter or foster as soon as possible (she only has 48 hours!).

This brindle beauty is mild-mannered and generally well-behaved but was never taught any commands in her previous home. Luckily, she now has a “Pen Pal” who is working to help Precious learn basic commands. It will be great if Precious can find an owner who will continue to work with her on obedience. However, Precious is already an expert at some important aspects of doggie behavior! Miss Precious is an excellent leash walker and is generally very polite when she is meeting new people – children included – even though she is clearly excited to see them! Additionally, Precious is very well-behaved in the car.

Precious weighs under 40 lbs and has adorable floppy ears and a cute little snout! She was recently “fixed” and is hoping to get into her forever home pronto!

The shelter vet staff found a mass under her chin which will require surgery to remove it. While the shelter can perform the surgery, she cannot recover in the stressful shelter and needs a home where she can relax. PLEASE consider bringing Precious home. Email her Pen Pal at marita.blackney@gmail.com or lifesaving@acctphilly.org for more information.

This dog is currently enrolled in the Pen Pal Program at the Animal Care & Control Team (ACCT) of Philadelphia. ACCT is located at 111 W. Hunting Park Ave. Philadelphia, PA 19140. Adoption Hours are Monday-Friday, 1pm-8pm and Saturday-Sunday, 10am-5pm. Foster Care Hours are 9am-6pm every day. Stop by and save a life!

Check Precious on Youtube: http://youtu.be/6NEsiy5CoGI

Meet Rex, an adorable Staffie/Terrier mix. Poor Rex’s owner was deployed and had no one to take care of this energetic boy. Rex is only 6-12 months old, energetic, active and super friendly. He is a very good boy in his kennel at the shelter but instantly perks up once outside.

He is big and strong and does need some leash and general manners. He did very well in his dog meets and even ignored a dog who was not being very nice to Rex during their meet. He is very playful, loves fetch and toys. He may be a big boy but he’s still very much puppy at heart with typical puppy behaviors.

He showed no interest in cats during cat test but can be re-tested upon a request. Are you looking for your new best bud? Rex will definitely steal your heart! More photos of Rex can be found here.

This dog is located at 111 West Hunting Park Ave in Philadelphia and is available for adoption or foster care (dog meet dog required; kids under 13 must meet and no kids under 6). Adoption hours are 1-8 Monday through Friday and 10-5 on weekends. If you are interested in foster care, the hours are 9-6 seven days per week. For more information about ACCT please visit www.acctphilly.org or go directly to the shelter.

This handsome boy is a six-year old boxer/pit bull mix who was surrendered by his previous owners for landlord issues. He is VERY housetrained (read: he holds it for days!) and previously lived with children.

He is a very social boy who loves getting attention and pets but is independent at the same time. He did great during his handling tests and was very appropriate with the dogs he met at the shelter. He didn’t notice the cats during his cat-test, but he would need another cat test once he is a little less stressed out in the shelter.

Hova is a sweet guy who needs a great family to give him a second chance. He recently had the pleasure of going to an off-site event at a park with a volunteer. He had a great time and enjoyed being outside, meeting other people, kids and even a few horses! Hova proved himself to be a great kisser, snuggler and leaner. He clearly loved all the attention he got and would love to have it on a regular basis. While out on the town, Hova practiced some obedience work and showed his incredible ability to focus.

Hova was comfortable in a crate in the car and with some practice, would probably make a pretty good traveling companion. He’s a bit stressed out being outside of the comfortable home he used to know and now being in the shelter. Please come down to ACCT and bring any resident dogs or kids along for a meet and greet for Hova. He is the perfect addition to your family! No really, he is perfect and a volunteer favorite.

This dog is located at 111 West Hunting Park Ave in Philadelphia and is available for adoption or foster care. Adoption hours are 1-8 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m.-5 p.m. on weekends. If you are interested in foster care, the hours are 9 a.m.-6 p.m. seven days per week. For more information about ACCT please visit www.acctphilly.org or go directly to the shelter.

This week’s adoptable dog is Ginger. She was at the shelter last summer and got adopted in the nick of time. Unfortunately, her new owner got sick and can’t keep her. Ginger is a young, reddish-gold haired terrier mix. She is house-trained, crate trained, knows commands, is spayed, up to date on her shots and is ready to move back in to a home.

Ginger lived with older children in her last home but young kids make her uncomfortable. She likes some other dogs but can be picky – and Ginger is definitely a no-cats kind of dog! She walks well on a leash, loves to snuggle on the sofa, is great in the car and enjoys a refreshing swim when it’s hot out.

Ginger is not handling the shelter environment very well and needs a rescue, foster home or adopter as soon as possible.

Email her Pen Pal Lara at larakelly [at] comcast.net for more information. If adopted, Lara will pay the adoption fee, provide a crate and provide 1 month of food.

This week’s featured dog is Apollo, an adorable honey-colored 1-2 year old mutt (Pit Bull Terrier/Mastiff mix). Whatever he may be, he is one handsome dog!

Though he weighs about 64 lbs, Apollo is on the medium size with shorter legs and a big old loveable head. Apollo is pretty nervous being in the loud, crowded shelter but is dealing with it as well as he can. He stays lower to the ground while walking through the kennels, but once outside he will climb into your lap for attention and he loves being petted.

Once he’s loosened up a bit, he loves to play tag around the runs. Apollo showed no issues with basic or advanced handling and actually seemed to enjoy the attention. He also showed no issues with food. He was pretty distracted during his cat-test so he’ll need another one before going home with any.

Apollo was a little uncomfortable meeting the more pushy dogs at the shelter, but did not react negatively. He likely just needs some time to feel more comfortable there before he’ll begin to play with them. Please bring your resident dogs down to the shelter to meet Apollo!

Apollo has lived with young children in his last home and was playful with them, per his former family. Families with children under 12 should bring them down to meet him. Apollo shouldn’t go home with children under 5 right now since he is still on the shyer side and will likely be more energetic once in a home. Please come meet this sweet boy today!

Apollo is located at ACCT Philadelphia, 111 W. Hunting Park Avenue. Adoption hours are 1-8 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. on weekends. If you are interested in fostering, please contact nsmith [at] pspca.org or jsweeney [at] pspca.org. For more information about ACCT including adoption and foster information please visit www.acctphilly.org.

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).