Brando has a forever home and his new owner absolutely adores him. Brando is one of NYCSR’s most well traveled dogs, having lived in three foster homes in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts. Despite his multiple moves Brando has maintained a steady temperament as a loving and playful older boy. With his weight up to normal and his allergies under control Brando now has the looks to go along with his attitude.

“Brando is a sweet guy who likes to be around people and is very gentle. He’s always willing to meet new dogs and anyone who shows any interest in him”, said Brando’s mom, Marie. “He enjoys killing his stuffed animals and throwing the covers in the air. With one swing of his head they go flying across the room…It’s very funny to watch.”

Brando is the 61st dog that NYCSR has adopted out since the rescue was founded in April 2007.

Brando’s allergic itchy spots are getting better. Some of his fur is growing in and the dark, leathery texture that he had is slowly going away from where he often licked and scratched his skin. He’s not itching anymore and has been on a homeopathic treatment plan which is working. He’s stopped itching/biting himself, seems more alert, eyes are clear and bright.

Marie, his foster, told us that Brando is a sweet guy. He likes to be around people and tends to be very gentle. He likes to camp out on the sofa if he is not eating or out for a good long walk. He enjoys shredding stuffed animals, and throwing the hides in the air. As she describes it, “one swing of his head and they go flying across the room.”

Brando is also a very good dog when they are out and likes to meet new friends, canine or human. He’s also on a harness now instead of a regular collar or choke because he pulls on the walk and was choking himself when he found something or someone that he desperately needed to go check out. He is improving and learning to just walk and not drag Marie all over the place.

He’s still jumping up on surface that he shouldn’t be such as the counter, but Marie tells us that he’s got good manners otherwise. She’s working with him to not get overly excited and jump on tables or counters just because she’s preparing his food. She also told us he’s getting more comfortable in her house and likes the new routine. He now is more of a cuddler and makes more eye contact with her.

Brando has become accepting of his crate. He will whine a little bit, but settles very quickly. He also gets along well with his foster sister, Nike. Marie told us that sometimes Nike can be a little too forceful on Brando and picks on him. She is getting much better, and now prefers to sleep next to him on the sofa. It sounds like Brando has a friend and a loving foster home.

Keep checking back!

Brando has been in his new foster home for about a month now and his foster family let us know that he’s doing well. He now has a harness instead of a collar for walks and it’s improved his leash walking a great deal. He was choking himself on the collar and then would try to get away from the pain by pulling harder. Now he’s much better and is spending more time exploring. He sniffs everything they walk by and likes to figure out what other dogs might be living in that area.

He had a few accidents in the house but it may be due to stress and a new environment, overall he’s been very good and his fur is improving. He is now moving over to a raw food diet and it’s cut down on his shedding and it’s helping his skin. He likes most new dogs and only growled at a few that he’s met. His foster family thinks it may be due to the fact that the other dogs were male and may not have been neutered. They are watching his reaction with any dog they meet to see if there is another trigger that could be causing the hostility.

Brando is living with another dog, Nike, and they get along well. She’s plays with him and also seems to be the boss. They kill stuffed animals together and play chase and tag. When she doesn’t want to play anymore, she lets him know and he quickly listens and stops.

His foster mom had this to say:

Brando’s been very sweet, and low maintenance. He’s a joy to have around really. He picks up things very quickly, will run and sit and just wait in the kitchen for his breakfast and dinner (after our walks). He is more a couch potato in my home however than I thought he would be, given some of the descriptions of him! I’ve not seen the high level of energy I thought he would have… I’m happy to see him excited for walks, and he runs and plays with Nike, but I guess I was braced for a hurricane that didn’t come…. His energy level is perfect!

From what we can tell, his foster family may be falling for him. They are 100% fine with his allergies and love him very much.

Brando’s been on some medication and has had a special bath to help alleviate the irritated area and cut down on the itchiness. The area has obviously been inflamed before and the vet said this was an old allergy that was probably never treated. We are looking into what can be done to find out what Brando has an allergy towards and what needs to be done to make his itchy spot go away.

His foster mom, Ami, told us though, that he’s still happy, playful, and has a lot of fun with her other two dogs. Brando has come a long way with his behavior. He still gives a little grief on leash sometimes because he gets so excited about going for a walk, but he is getting better. He used to also try and grab towels from the counter and towel racks but he’s stopped that bad habit. Ami also sent us a new pic and Brando looks great and cute!

Brando is doing well in his foster home. He is about 25 lbs and still has some skin irritations. The vet thinks it might be allergies but we’re still not sure what he could be allergic to. He has tougher skin around his belly where the irritations are and the vet believes Brando may have had these allergic symptoms for a long time. He’s now on some meds to see if that helps clear up the irritations and we’ll keep everyone posted on how he does.

Brando still has some issues with trying to be the dominant member of the family. His foster family keeps reinforcing that they are the leaders, this especially comes into play on walks. In the house Brando is very affectionate and friendly. He is also playful and acts very young. People are surprised to learn he’s an older adult dog, he looks and acts young. He’s also quite happy.

His foster mom told us that Brando is sometimes a trash can digger. He likes plastic wrap and plastic bags. He only seems to dig in the trash if no one is looking or around. He knows that he’s not supposed to. We’re not sure what the attraction is to plastic bags and wrap. Brando is a silly dog, maybe he thinks they are krinkle toys or something.

Aside from his allergies, Brando is great and having fun with his foster family. He gets a lot of attention and pets. Keep checking back on Brando!

The skin issues on Brando’s snout have healed completely, and we haven’t seen any signs of it coming back anywhere else. The rest of his coat is about the same, although we are noticing that as the weather gets cooler, his skin is getting drier, too.

Brando is still as playful as ever, and LOVES to run around the house and play chase with Dakota. He constantly wants to be with his people and will find a place to curl up in the same room with you. Brando’s leash walking has much improved – although he still will pull initially when we first start out. We’ve been noticing some little things lately – like the fact that Brando seems to prefer male humans to females. He gets along with both just fine, but will usually snuggle up to the men. He also really enjoys riding in the car with his head hanging out the window. It would be strongly advised for the adopting family to get a seatbelt harness for him.

Unknown at this point if the Brando is having issues with our teenage daughter or if it is something else, but we’ve had some behavioral problems (accidents in the house, getting into trashcans) that seemed to start when she was suspended from school and was around him for a much more significant time than usual. I think the trick with the trashcan is to not have any plastic bags in there. He loves to rip apart plastic bags. We are working with him on these problems and have faith that he will overcome them.

Brando is much more aware of his surroundings now that he’s comfortable in our house. Although he is crate trained I think being in his crate stresses him out. Whenever we’ve had to crate him, he sheds profusely.

Overall, Brando is a wonderful dog and will make a great addition to his new forever family.

Brando has been doing very well since his neutering, and has even gained a few more pounds.

His foster mom says this:

“Brando is very snuggly and loving. He’ll often come up on the couch with us and curl up next to or on our laps and immediately roll over for tummy rubs. He’s also very protective and alert when it comes to his surroundings. At times he can be easily startled, but that’s rare. He’s very playful and full of energy, especially for a 9 year old dog and he needs to be able to run and walk to wear down a bit.

We have neighborhood stray cats that walk past our fence every day, multiple times a day. I’ve witnessed Brando go flying across the yard towards the cat when he sees one – he doesn’t do this for squirrels or birds or even other dogs.”

Our sweet Brando is doing quite well. He has been neutered and is gaining his much needed weight.

Here’s what Ami says:

“Brando is a very sweet old boy with a lot of love to give. He gets along great with Dakota; they play and nap together all the time. Brando loves to snuggle and be around his people. He has only been exposed to older children (teenagers) at this point, and has been great with them. Brando will bark when the doorbell rings and sometimes will join in when Dakota barks at something. Brando is very affectionate with everyone he meets. He wants to investigate anybody who comes in the door and immediately gives puppy eyes to be petted.

I think Brando would benefit from a home where he has somebody (or lots of somebodies!) to play/run/walk with. He would do great with or without other dogs, although if he is placed with other dogs, they should be moderate to high energy dogs in order to keep up with him Brando can jump at least 3 feet from a standing start. This doesn’t happen often, but is something to keep in mind with regards to baby gates or fences.”

It looks like Brando has won the hearts of his foster family.

Brando has certainly improved and seems to love posing for the camera. Here’s some more pics!