Loving Pup Who Was Returned To The Shelter For Being "Too Aggressive" With Kids Proves Everyone Wrong!

Duke the American bulldog mix pup was brought into the Greater Charlotte SPCA in September 2014 after being spotted hanging out close to a highway. He was full of energy and only aged between one and three years old.

Duke had clearly had a hard life. His old family contacted the GCSPCA three months after he’d been found but it was discovered that he had been neglected and treated like an outside dog. Many of the compulsive behaviors Duke had likely developed from this bad treatment. Roberta Sa Griner was soon introduced to Duke as his foster Mom. She had three pups of her own and had been a foster mother for many pups, but Duke was the most difficult she’d ever had to work with. He was extremely strong, untrained, and almost frightening. He seemed to be alright inside homes, but once brought out for walks he’d drag his Mom – and others – to the ground with his strength and energy, even though he wasn’t aggressive.

After six months and several trainers, an adoption application was sent in for Duke in March 2015. The family, which had three young daughters, were told that they had to work with a dog trainer and needed to work on making sure Duke kept up his positive behaviors. Things seemed to be going well, but then, 18 months in, they stopped replying to Griner’s messages and follow-ups.

Then, in August 2017, the family called the GCSPCA and said that Duke had become increasingly aggressive. He had become possessive of his toys and gone from loving his human sisters to being almost intolerant at them to the point that he had supposed nipped at one of the girls. The family was now worried for the safety of their girls.

Griner knew that, although they had likely done their best to treat Duke well, his training needs had probably been neglected at some point. He was placed back into the GCSPCA, and he was unrecognizable. He stopped being good with children or other animals, though he had been wonderful before. Worried because she and her husband had three daughters of their own, Griner could not foster him again.

Duke was eventually sent to a boarding and training organization for three months on funds from a GCSPCA fundraiser. When this was done, Griner tried to find a new foster home for him but was unable to – so she made the decision to give him a chance in her home again.

At first, Duke had to be kept on a leash with Griner always, and was not allowed to interact with her children or other pups. Then, slowly, they worked on gradually introducing Duke to Griner’s children, and then he was trained alongside the other household dogs, and finally, many months in, he was finally allowed to be with the other pups unsupervised.

Slowly but surely, it became obvious that Duke cared for Griner’s youngest daughter the most: Veronica, who is six years old. Her strong personality is just the kind that he needed in a friend. Soon, he spent lots of time with her, even taking naps with her or watching while she did homework. Duke also listens best to her, which is great since Veronica loves training him! He has shown no signs of aggression towards any of his housemates, too.

Now, Duke is ready to seek a forever home again, but the GCSPCa and Griner will both be extremely selective about it. They aim for someone who is local so Griner can help when needed, and a family with no other animals or children because he needs maximum attention and can be careless when running. He’d also love to be in an active home where he can go for daily runs or walks. While he doesn’t bond quickly with everyone, those he does bond with will enjoy incredible love and affection. If you’re interested in fostering or adopting this lively pup, you can contact the GCSPCA here!

Images & Feature Image Source: Roberta Sa Griner