Scheduled Adoption Events

Please review our Adoption Process before filling out an application.  If you would like to try a Foster to Adopt trial, please fill out an Adoption Application. 

If you are only interested in temporarily Fostering one of our rescues, please fill out a Foster Application.

UPDATE 5/20/20:

Emilio’s foster mom sent this update:

Emilio is a great companion dog with a spunky personality who is always happy to be your supervisor. He is an enthusiastic learner, extremely smart and athletic so we have been working daily on indoor games and training while social distancing. He plays very well with dogs and loves a good chase. Lots of exercise and mental stimulation have been helpful in decreasing his anxiety behaviors. He is friendly with my cat, it took about a week for Emilio's curiosity & playfulness to be at an acceptable level for the cat.

Emilio's Strengths:

Learns quickly and responds to positive reinforcement. Utilizing absoluteDOGS games during quarantine to bond and train.

Very friendly and playful with all the dogs when off-leash

He will fetch and bring back his toys to you. Wants you to play!

Responds to his name and comes when called, inside and outside

Amazing stamina. Would be a good dog to run with and take on long hikes (note current leash aggression below).

Emilio's Obstacles:

Leash aggression/anxiety towards other dogs is high, resorts to nipping while in high-level state. Using "Leave It" command and high value treats to modify behavior. Seems to respond negatively especially with men running by on street. 

High anxiety when left alone, resorts to barking (does eventually stop)

Does not like being crated. Utilizing treats to mark as a "safe zone"

Does not respond to neck collar, seems to increase aggression while leashed; better behaved on harness when leashed.

Emilio is a Baja blend rescued from the streets of Tijuana. He looks like a lab with a shep gene and some terrier or beagle look. He also has a blue tongue, so, your guess is as good as ours!

UDPATE 12/29/19:  Emilio is TRULY an amazing dog: funny, loving, SMART (we have many videos to upload coming soon to see dog, cat, kid, and outings interactions).  His potential reaction to nipping is minimal if EVER and very well managed with a mindful and observant handler. He has done amazing at the past two adoption events. HOWEVER, he will need an adopter who takes training seriously to "nip this in the butt" sort of way. 

UPDATE 12/20/19: Emilio is a VERY sweet and loving dog, HOWEVER, he can TRY TO NIP people when he is on a leash and they are walking by him or close to him or approaching him. ONLY SOMETIMES. BE MINDFUL WHEN AROUND HIM IF YOU HAVE NOT MET HIM.  Emilio is what we call a “project dog,” which means we are looking for a FOSTER home who can work with a trainer BEFORE we can adopt him, so the family is comfortable before finalizing his adoption. ARWOB can help sponsor the training and we can talk to serious inquirers. He is great with cats and great with MOST dogs. He loves to play with friends of all breeds/sizes. He has met children at events and loves them, BUT would likely be best in a home with NO KIDS unless the family feels comfortable with his "meeting new people outings.” He is house, potty and crate trained. He is energetic, SMART and somewhat stubborn. He really would be a FANTASTIC partner/companion, but we need an observant handler.

As of 11/5/19 Emilio has been with ARWOB for 7 months since April 2019, however he has been in San Diego since May 2019. He was first boarded at a vet clinic type setting for the month of May, where he interacted with multiple people, including women, men, and several of the arwob dogs. Aside from barking from being kennel stressed towards the end of his stay (finishing quarantine, medical and lack of foster home), he has been a great dog. In June, he started being fostered by our founder, along with several other arwob dogs and cats. Emilio was with her for a couple of months, crate trained and learning the ropes of the home, as well as playing with all the other foster dogs. He was a teen with high energy, a fantastic little foster, but he needed a one on one foster to make sure he started to learn basic training. This could only be accomplished by a foster one on one, especially since he is a teen. As we all know some teens try to push boundaries, so we wanted to make sure Emilio didn't become a behavioral case with no leash training and socialization with the world. 

We found a foster family (Mom, dad and senior high school student who is now in college). The family has a yard and occasionally have other Arwob dogs from a senior to pups. They also have a cat. A couple of weeks after being transferred into the foster family, he was adopted and within 3 days we received notes from the adopter. They experienced behavioral issues with him from trying to nip people while walking him, to barking none stop in his crate. The home setting was a new adopter with no dog experience in a downtown apartment. Although we think that could have been too many variables which could have allowed this behavior, it would be the first time this would have 'made' a dog behave like that. We don't believe that was the main reason for his acting out. After a week, they sought help from a dog trainer and, after assessment, it was decided for him to come back to the group. We have had him back since August 2019 and probably about a week after he came back to the group, we noticed the issues described on leash, mostly potential nipping at certain people who walked by him while he is on leash, mostly men, but on rare occasions. 

We had him assessed by a dog behaviorist in San Diego; he mentioned he is a very smart dog, energetic, but also scared and Emilio's uncomfortable feelings provokes his reaction. His foster family has multiple people come and go from the home and sometimes the introduction to new people at first has to be slow, but many times is normal. What we believe the leash reactivity or the feeling of restraint makes him have this response. He can do it to dogs and people, rarely, but on occasion. 

Emilio is a fantastic dog, loving, good with the dogs and cats. He has met multiple kids and does great with them. The men and women he has in his life he loves, many strangers he meets he loves being petted. BUT there are those occasions where he reacts and, because of that uncertainty, we need to consider him a behavior case aka a “project dog.” We are looking for an adopter who is willing and interested in taking it slow with him. We are talking several months of getting to build a relationship, getting to know his triggers, and learning to correct it and most of all prevent it. When walking him, the adopter needs to be able to observe for his cues when he will react. His foster mom has been working with him, but he still has a ways to go. 

If you'd like to meet Emilio on your own to determine if he would be a good pup for you or not, please email us at animalrescuers@sbcglobal.net We are seeking a foster for him to work with him one on one; specifically focusing on walks and outings, as his current foster family takes him on occasional trips and walks but not able to spend and dedicate that much time for his training. They can offer him a home to be in versus staying in a boarding kennel, but he needs that one person/persons who can help him learn, experience the world, and correct him or prevent his issues. 

Ideally he will need a home with a yard to run around in, but mostly because we don't want to over expose him to a condo/apartment living where the interaction with people and other dogs being walked could be over stimulating him for his beginning stages of training. We have many videos we will up load, some also with the behaviorist. 

Do you want to help Emilio have an opportunity at life and not becoming a 'unadoptable' statistic? Please contact us at arwob.org

If you would like to meet one of our animals, PLEASE fill out an adoption application.

Dog Adoption Application

Cat Adoption Application

PLEASE NOTE: IF YOU ARE IN THE MILITARY  please fill out a short questionnaire in addition to the adoption application.

Military Questionnaire