Adoption Area: East Tennessee

Fern needs:

• A dog savvy person who can be patient with her and continue to help her with her anxiety when meeting new people 
• Someone who is looking for a “Velcro dog” who wants to be with you all the time, including on furniture and in the bed.
• A home with a young active dog for Fern to play with 
• An adult only home where someone is home a lot — no children 

Meet Fern (aka Itty Bitty)! She is a 9 pound, five year old, female Shih Tzu Mix. Fern has a white coat with large brown spots. She is the sweetest little girl, but when she came to rescue she was very timid. While we do not know the exact circumstances that brought her to rescue she was extremely underweight and her grooming was very much neglected. The shelter she ended up at named her Fern, but her foster mom nicknamed her itty bitty and that is the name she currently knows, as always her forever home is free to change her name. 

Fern has become very comfortable in her foster home and is no longer timid with the household routine and family. She will need some time and patience when going to a new home to get comfortable.  A home without a lot of visitors coming and going would be best as she barks a lot when new people come in and is scared of them. Once introduced and given a few minutes to relax, she is usually fine with the visitors. She will need a family that will be patient with her and help her work through her anxiety. She will also need a groomer who is very patient as she has had mixed experiences at her grooming appointments in how she shows her fear. For this reason, it is not recommended that she be in a home with children or where children frequent. Also, it seems Fern cannot see out of one eye probably due to a previous injury, but it does not seem to affect her at all. 

Fern has really began to show her personality. She follows her foster mom everywhere and loves to be by her side whatever she is doing. She sleeps in the bed touching her foster mom quietly all night, and also loves to be on her lap or beside her while sitting and watching tv. She does well in a crate with her foster sister when her foster mom runs errands. Speaking of her foster sister, she loves to play, wrestle, and chase. She has not yet shown any interest in toys.  Fern needs a  home with a young dog to keep her company and play. Fern gets on the nerves of the older dogs in her foster home because she barks at them and wants them to play, so a home with an older dog is not recommended. 

Fern is mostly housebroken to outside, but also knows how to use a pee pad. She will need someone who can help continue her potty training and continue working with her on a leash. She has a lot of energy so she will need an environment where she can get that out! She is the sweetest little girl and her foster family will miss her very much but she is ready for her forever home. Do you think you can give Fern the life she deserves? She is up to date on all her shots, heartworm and flea prevention and is spayed and microchipped. Her adoption fee is $175