Marley

While looking for a small, fluffy dog, I met Marley after a staff member suggested I look at the larger dogs. He seemed like a nice dog in his pen, so I asked the staffer if he could be taken out of the pen.

Marley was brought to the waiting area for me, or rather he dragged the staffer into the area. Marley was very exuberant, or super-hyper. Then we played with him for a while in a hallway, and he never slowed down. I wondered if he would be too much for me to handle. As I went through the adoption process, I kept telling myself that he was nice in his pen. Was I nuts to adopt this 50-pound, year-old guy who'd been up for adoption for six months? He dragged me to my car. On the way home, Marley paced some in the back seat of the car, and I was thankful he didn't come bounding into the front seat.

Once I led him into my small condo, he became a perfect gentleman. Although not mentioned in his written description, he is housebroken, so no problem there! Someone has given him some training. He sits on command which is very convenient, he responds well to "no," and he no longer pulls me on his leash. He loves going to our tennis court to catch his tennis ball then race around with it (great workout for him, and I shuffle my feet occasionally to keep him running). So, I'm lazy. I'm trying to be good about building on his previous training, so he works for most of his treats. He has even learned to catch his treats mid-air. I was planning to take him to obedience classes, but even the neighbors don't think it's needed.

Marley was adopted June 13, 2004. I've enjoyed every minute of being with him, and I'm constantly amazed at how good he is. I would like to thank AHS for taking such good care of him until I found him.

ATLANTA HUMANE SOCIETY NOTE: Marley was a resident at the AHS for many months. During that time, he was adopted and returned because he was too hyper. The staff was worried that he'd never find a family that had enough time or energy for his needs. We knew Marley needed what all adolescent dogs do, and so staff and volunteers worked him through the Manners Matter program, all the while wondering who would have what it takes to be his forever home.

As you can tell from the story, Marley really just needed to go home.... It turns out that much of his "hyper" behavior was probably from being in the kennel with not enough human interaction. Once in a loving home, his true nature emerged.

Most adolescent and young adult dogs need lots of physical and mental stimulation, not to mention training, to be fulfilled. While it isn't safe to assume that a wildly hyper dog will automatically become a couch potato once he is taken home, one can read Marley's story and see that dogs often surprise us. Please take the time to come visit our adult and adolescent dogs--you never know which one might steal your heart.