Klaus had been raised as a pet since puppyhood, but his owner eventually realized that he no longer had the time and means to give Klaus the care and attention he needed and surrendered him to the North Central Animal Shelter in Los Angeles. A volunteer at the shelter had recently attended an SDF-hosted training event for shelter partners, and with the help of SDF’s Canine Recruitment Team, she and fellow volunteers were able to conduct the preliminary assessment tests with Klaus to determine whether he would be a good fit for our program. Upon evaluating him, they felt that he indeed had working dog potential, and our team agreed!
When Klaus arrived at SDF, he was not in the best health. He required treatment for parasites and was very underweight, requiring a careful nutritional evaluation to determine the best way to safely bring him up to a healthy weight. For the next few weeks, our team worked to restore his health while also building trust and showing him how fun it can be to collaborate with humans.
Klaus revealed himself to be a very social boy—both with humans and other dogs—and loved playing with toys. However, when introduced to new environments, he didn’t display the necessary level of persistence when hunting for the toy to continue on in our search program. With his sociable personality, stable demeanor, and zest for life, we knew he would make a great companion to the right adopters, so we began searching for an active home that would be able to keep up with this gentle giant.
A few months later, Klaus got his lucky break when a potential adopter on the East Coast heard about him and planned a trip to California so they could spend some time getting to know each other. They clicked right away, and together they headed to Klaus’ new home in Massachusetts! His human is a service dog trainer and sports enthusiast, so the options are wide open for Klaus as they work together to discover his passions. Whichever direction his interests take them, we know they’ll have a ton of fun together, and we can’t wait to see this dynamic duo in action!
Click here to learn more about our Canine Placement Program!