If a charming older hound appeals to you, then Uncle Harry is one for you to consider. He has a contagious serene gaze that is his pay back to his foster dad. Uncle Harry is a Redbone/B&T mix. He’s at least 9 yr old. He seems in good health and fit for this age, except that he is hard of hearing. Also, he hasn’t uttered a bark or growl in a month of foster care. Either he’s been ‘debarked’ or has otherwise damaged his vocal cords.

Uncle Harry is a low key dog, who likes other dogs, but he’s still a bit shy with people. Much of his shyness seems to come from his hearing loss and inability to vocalize. He can hear a loud truck, and the other dogs bark at visitors, but seems to respond best to humans’ gestures. Uncle Harry came from a central Florida shelter, where he was described as a stray. Since he was heartworm negative, this was not a lifestyle, even if it was a temporarily true. His foster dad says he acts more like a dog who lost his owner, than as a dog whose owner lost him. Uncle Harry likes to sit on the deck and watch the world go by, but he’s ready to walk the back yard when his foster dad heads for the door. He has come a long way towards becoming housebroken. The biggest impediment has been that, lacking ability to vocalize, his foster dad has to watch the body language, such as standing by the door. Keeping a consistent schedule has helped a lot–letting him out regularly has helped Harry adjust to life inside a house. Harry is an intelligent and engaging character even though his shyness may shroud these gifts at first glance.

The best home for Uncle Harry would be one with none, or just one other low key dog, an owner who was around a lot of the time, air conditioned, and with a nice place to sit. The special friendship with an older dog is reserved for special people, or for those who become special people.

UPDATE 5-15-2008: You can teach an old dog new tricks, and a good old dog learns quickly. Uncle Harry is nearly housebroken. Long overnight confinement is the exception, but he’ll learn how to handle this, too. He’s become far more comfortable around the other hounds in the house now, and has a friendship with the oldest female, who coincidentally, is the calmest and quietest of the pack in his foster home. He remains a very reserved dog, but acknowledges his foster dad with a tail wag and eye contact. He knows when it’s walk time, and comes down to join in. Here’s the most important discovery: Uncle Harry loves pizza. He has ignored almost all other hypnotically attractive dog treats such as liver treats, chocolate chip cookies and peanut butter biscuits. For pizza, he’ll come right up into his foster dad’s lap to ask for a piece of pizza. We’ll add ‘must share pizza’ to the list of Uncle Harry’s desired adoption family qualifications.

If you think you have room in your heart and home for this wonderful Coonie, please fill out an

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Thank you for considering a rescue dog!