Courtesy post for Brutus owner Amber. He is NOT an AAHA dog. Please contact Amber at ashillis92@gmail.com if you want to meet Brutus.

"Brutus is around 2 and a half years old and has a clean bill of health. As for temperament, hes very skittish, shy, and what I would call an introvert, although he is friendly and just wants love and to be near his people. I found him on Facebook as an 8-week old puppy and he was the last of his litter of 14. When I went to meet him he wanted nothing to do with us, ha. I had to lure him with peanut butter to say hello. So its safe to say he was born with this type of personality. Of course, being a young dog, he is full of energy and he does love to play, and he is an excellent running partner! From day one I started trying to expose him to anything and everything in hopes that he would overcome some of his shyness and become more confident. I took him to stores, had him meet people, other dogs, cats, kids, I took him on walks/runs and doggie daycare. We have an older dog that he grew up with. I did everything "right".

However, while he has gotten better in terms of his shyness/anxiety, he does still have a really hard time. With new people hes friendly but apprehensive. With our cats, hes okay, but being a young dog and a terrier, I wouldnt feel confident saying hes good with ALL cats. With a proper introduction, I think hed be fine, but of course I would never leave him unsupervised. The same goes for other dogs. Hes hit and miss. They would need to meet to see how it would go. Hes not the aggressor, but hes more likely to shy away and bark, or "act tough" which, depending on the other dog, might not turn out well. Its all on a case by case basis. Hes been boarded before with packs of dogs and hes been fine, though, for what thats worth, and we had a house sitter that he absolutely loved. She even brought her high-energy dog over and they became best buds and tired each other out. I think as long as he feels comfortable hes fine. Hes shy with people on walks, if he meets someone on a walk he gets nervous and shy and may or may not try to approach them, Ive noticed it depends on the person. He tends to whine on walks out of being nervous or excited.

I do not trust him around children, especially young children. Ive had him since he was 8 weeks old and he has never had any negative experiences with children or other people, but for some reason he is incredibly nervous and aggressive with them. He has growled and barked at them and will bite if he feels cornered. So, definitely NO children. I think older kids/teenagers would be fine as long as theyre respectful of him and his space. They would just need to meet. As stated before, I made sure to make every experience with him a good one, but for whatever reason hes just got that personality of high anxiety, for lack of a better word. If theres something new in our yard he is scared of it. I have to feed him in his kennel or else he wouldnt eat or drink because hed rather be near us all the time. I have to go outside with him to potty the majority of the time because if he sees our neighbors he will run and try to get back inside before finishing his business. Hes never had negative interactions with them or anyone.

He is housebroken and kennel trained, leash trained and fixed. I keep him in his kennel when I cant supervise him (away from the house, etc) and he does fine; he honestly prefers his kennel! Ive never been able to get him to sleep in our room with us as he will just go back to his kennel in the middle of the night or try to roam around and get himself into trouble, ha. Ill attach a couple of pictures for you. Please let me know if theres any more info you need, and Im able to keep him until a suitable adopter is found, or a foster. With his personality I know he would just wither away in a shelter and I dont want that for him. The sooner I can get him a home or rescue the better, though. Any place that can work with him and hopefully do better than what Ive been able to do for the past 2 years. Who knows, with a change in environment he might become a completely different dog!"

*Disclaimer: AAHA provides complimentary listings for members of the community who wish to rehome their pet, as well as for other shelters/ rescues to assist them in finding Furever homes. Courtesy posted pets are not affiliated with AAHA rescue.

Unfortunately, there is not enough space or resources to admit every animal to our rescue that needs a furever home. But, we still want to help those in need along their journey! By courtesy posting, we are offering our website/network as an additional outlet to help an owner or rescue gain additional exposure for the animal they are trying to place.

AAHA can make no representation about courtesy posted pets including the health or suitability for adoption and accepts no liability in this exchange. Arrangements for adoptions are made between the Caretaker of the pet and the potential Adopter.