05/29/2026
Goose is 100% our diamond in the RUFF! Goose is a 1 1/2-year-old male Labrador Retriever/Am Staff or American Bully mix who is looking for someone as special as he is. This handsome boy weighs in at about 70 pounds, and he is completely full grown. He is tall, athletic, energetic, and a little bit of a hooligan. Then again, what teenager ISN'T a bit of a hooligan???!!
Goose was originally a stray picked up by the dog pound. He was transferred to Angels where he was adopted after just a short time. While his family loved him, as hard as they tried, they could not get Goose to accept the resident cats. Initially he seemed to do okay, but the temptation was far too great, and he succumbed to the urge to CHASE THE CATS CHASE ALL THE CATS! He is adamantly opposed to dogs and cats living as friends in harmony. We get it!
Goose did have the opportunity to live and exist in a home, which is awesome for him and for his new people. He learned lots! He is house trained, good when left alone in the house (so long as there are no cats, at least), and used to being in a family setting, and he has lived with kids 10 years and up. He also seems to be mostly dog friendly - he would probably do fine with a calm and confident female of similar size, but a meet and greet would be absolutely required prior to placement.
Goose does, though, have some specific needs beyond the feline free home.
Goose seemed to be largely ignored as a pup. When he came to Angels as an 8-month-old baby, he was untrained and rambunctious to say the least! He just had never had boundaries or someone who cared enough to train him on how to be the best dog he can be. His previous adopter, for as long as they had him, did their best to instill some of these lessons into him, but when it became clear he was a bit of a menace to residents of the feline persuasion, they weren't able to continue their work. He is desperately in need of an adopter who will take the time to work with him, train with him, get him into classes, and help finish out his education. He is a work in progress, make no mistake, but we have seen him make progress.
Part of Goose's issues have arisen from being in a shelter situation. The chaos and stress of kennel life, no matter how much we try to mitigate it, is always there. When Goose becomes over stimulated, he acts out. He will start rough play, grabbing at shirt sleeves, jumping up repeatedly. It's why we lovingly refer to him as a "hooligan'. He isn't really - he is just a victim of the circumstances that he finds himself in.
Goose does best with plenty of exercise. This can be difficult in a shelter setting with only a small number of volunteers, but thankfully the dog walkers and volunteers that we have are absolutely DEDICATED to doing as much as they possibly can for our dogs, especially for Goose. They know that there is nothing more precious to him than time outside, out of his kennel, out of the hustle and bustle, somewhere that he can enjoy the smells, the quiet, time with one of his people. He has progressed by leaps and bounds with everyone, staff and volunteers alike, helping him to realize his potential. The basics are there, unfortunately, in a shelter setting, the consistency that he needs isn't always able to be present.
Goose's ideal home would be primarily an adult home. Teenagers willing to help set and keep boundaries and rules would be more than fine. Goose isn't bad with kids, he's just a big young bouncy dog that has a hard time understanding his own strength. Never malicious, Goose just forgets himself once in awhile. After some work, we believe he would fully be able to integrate with the younger set. He would do best with a fenced in yard - a place where he can be loose and free and play ball to his hearts content. He is getting the idea of what 'fetch' is, but we are waiting on his retriever side to full mature and show itself completely - currently he can be a bit of a 'halfbacker' meaning he will go get that ball but he may only bring it halfway back! He's a little tricky...Goose would love to have regular walks where he can experience the big wide world. This would go a long way towards occupying his inquisitive and always working brain - walks are his happy place for sure! Honestly, time spent doing anything with his favorite people is his happy place. Being enrolled in some one-on-one training or even a general class would give him a job to do, something to keep him thinking and engaged.
We believe that Goose, this gorgeous and outstanding specimen of dogdom, can be an amazing pet. We know he can. He just needs someone to believe in him, take some time with him. We believe that once out of the shelter atmosphere and into a home situation, he will truly shine. But for the resident cats, he did exactly this when he was in his home before. Yes, he needs rules, yes, he needs boundaries, but abiding by them will be easy for this boy once away from the constantly changing sometimes chaotic shelter environment. That is really the challenge - getting someone to see him for what he CAN be when he isn't cooped up, listening to barking dogs, not quite sure which of his friends is coming by or isn't coming by, so on and so forth. If ever a dog needed consistency, downtime, rules and tons of love, it's our Goose. Hopefully someone will see the special boy that he is.
If you think you want to meet Goose, please fill out the application to adopt located at the link below. If you have any questions, please email [email protected]
https://angelsforanimals1.wufoo.com/forms/canine-preadoption-form/
