Behavior History:

Veterinary Staff:

6/16/26 behavior: fearful, vocalizing and flailing for restraint, very sensitive to injections -rolling and kicking

6/30/26: BAR, wagging tail and seeking attention gently. no wounds noted, Ok to DC meds.

8/22/26 behavior: caution BAR

8/24/26 Behavior observed: laying in kennel, wearing orange harness. Did not move when I talk to him, just staring, didn’t get up when I open the door. Not feel safe to get in kennel, need assistant to work on dog.

Shelter Staff:

06/19/26 11:05 When passing by kennel he is always wagging his tail but still nervous when trying to interact. I kneeled down and opened the kennel door to show him the leash to see if I can get a good interaction. Ears pinned back, tail wagging and sniffing leash. I tried to place leash over but he did not want to come close. I gave him space and then tried again with cracking the door more open and stepping halfway in his kennel to leash him. I was able to leash him and walk him out but as soon as he saw the dogs coming forward to the kennels he showed teeth and started to try to keep his distance. When we entered outside the building I went to pet him and he instantly looked back and was unsure of what was going on. AAA came over and he was shy at first but opened up. We were both able to pet him after he decompressed outside and began to walk towards the side of B4 where the dog islands are located. We hung out with him and then brought him into the dog island. As I was petting him a volunteer walked by with a dog from a distance, he began to growl and become very defensive. He tracked the dog for a while until he was no longer able to visually see it. We continued to hang out with him and when we would stop petting him he would jump on us and place both his paws on our chest for more affection. We ended our interaction and began to walk him out of the dog island. He saw a volunteer walking a dog from a distance and would not break contact from the dog to the point of him constantly trying to pull me towards the dog. We then were able to place him back in the kennel with no issues.

06/20/26 09:17 Stiff when approaching kennel today. Presented leash and talked to in soft voice, dog remained frozen, stiff, tail erect, tracking hand. When opening kennel door and attempting to present hand at a distance for him to sniff, dog lip lifted then air snapped and retreated slightly. Closed door and gave him a few moments before opening kennel door again, presenting leash and attempting to loop leash over head. Dog snapped at leash, then allowed full leashing. Kept door closed for a moment until he took a step forward to exit. Opened kennel door wide, giving him a wide berth as we exited bldg. Dog remained stiff, tall, glancing at other dogs, non-reactive. When reaching kennel 601 which housed a small dog, dog showed interest and sniffed kennel door. Exited bldg, dog walked directly next to me. As we approached parking lot, dog began sniffing environment, teeth chattering as he sniffed various urine marks/bushes. Did not approach me or engage. Tossed treats down on ground, began to toss them closer to me. Dog eventually began soliciting attention, jumping on me and placing paws on shoulder. Turned and dropped treats on ground, easy to redirect. Allowed pets all over, but kept interactions neutral/brief. Dog seemed more affiliative at this point. Walked back to promenade area where dog spotted Lt. and ACA. Temperament improvement, dog ran towards both handlers seeking attention/affection, allowing pets all over, seeking further attention/engagement from them. Easy to place into new kennel. Dog self-injured nose lifting drop down. OK to place on ACA/evaluation, will need time to generalize to further handlers.

06/24/26 08:54 ACA Rosa stated she had Skippie out recently and had the same type of interactions as previous note — attention seeking but also extremely conflicted and anxious. ACA states dog was reactive towards other dogs on leash as well.

06/24/26 11:04 Very excited and happy when seen me in kennel. Opened kennel door and showed leash to take out for a walk. Walked right into my leash and came out very gently. Dogs startled him so he barked once but disengaged quickly when told no. Loves to stay by your side when on a walk and is still very observant of his surroundings. Every once in a while he would turn back and want to jump on me for affection. Listens on command when told down and continues to walk by side. Able to pet everywhere on body and seems more confident from our first initial outing. Enjoyed his time around the parking lot and did not bark at any dogs, only observed from a distance. When walking back to B6 he saw a dog that was outside of B4 and showed interest but never pulled me close to him. Eras pinned back, tail wag but stayed close by. When walking inside B6 he ignored all the barking and entered the kennel with me. I had him sit and was able to remove leash so I can exit kennel. Seems to prefer men at the moment.

06/24/26 12:29 OK for TLC/evaluation, will need to generalize to different handlers. Monitor anxiety levels.

07/01/26 10:51 TLC volunteers state Skippie has had a vast improvement in temperament. Though he can display some reactivity towards other animals and can display mild anxiety, he is generally affiliative and sweet with handlers. OK to place available, no children due to previous behaviors.

07/02/26 11:11 dog was easy to take out of kennel, reactive when give injection, turn around try to bite. Used catchpole to hold dog for IM injection to sedate for neuter.

07/02/26 14:42: Watched clinic induction. Patient was tense on leash, tail tucked and darting. When placed in corner for induction and rope muzzle placed, patient bucked head and body. Handler released after being bucked in the chin. Dog then tried to bite, baring teeth. Let patient walk around clinic- constantly tried to flip around when attempting to grab the leash. Eventually catch pole placed, patient barking, growling, biting, and shrieking. IM injection successful with three handlers.

7/7/26: Easy to leash and walk to the yard behind B5. Roamed and sniffed around the yard. Seeks attention and affection. LOVES pets. Wasn’t interested in treats. Didn’t respond to any commands. Overall, sweet and friendly boy when he warms up. Easy return to kennel. 

07/08/26 10:01 Temperament improvement. No issues reported from volunteers or staff. OK to place as Green

.

8/7/26: Very puppy-like bouncy and playful. A little shy at first, but loves being around people receiving attention and affection. He likes to run around and have fun and would be a great match for someone who enjoys an active, playful dog. May be test for play group dog too to help build confidence. Vol

*New Impound*

08/24/26 01:40 RP Left a message on the after-hours line re: requesting to owner surrender a dog she “recently took in” and wanted to know if she could bring the dog in tonight. She is unable to bring the dog in the morning due to nobody being home at the residence. She stated she is unable to safely keep the dog contained because he gets aggressive and tries to bite when she tries to contain him. RP stated that the dog was “contained” in the residence but keeps trying to get out of any area he is contained in and has already broken out of a wire kennel tonight.

08/24/26 01:45 Called RP  back. I asked her where she obtained the dog and she told me she adopted the dog (SKIPPIE A1965847) from OC Animal Care on 08/22/26. She stated SKIPPIE is a sweet dog, but has issues whenever he is confined or contained and becomes aggressive and tries to bite. He tries to escape whatever area he is contained or confined in. I asked if SKIPPIE has bitten anyone and she told me he growled at and “mouthed” her boyfriend tonight when he was trying to put a harness on him but there was no actual bite. She told me she was able to get the harness on SKIPPIE. When SKIPPIE was placed into a wire kennel tonight, he was fine at first, but became agitated and broke out of the kennel by destroying the floor of the kennel and then bending the wires. I asked if SKIPPIE injured himself when he broke out of the kennel and she told me doesn’t think so, but she did see a drop of blood on the floor that she thinks may have come from his mouth. She did not feel comfortable checking his mouth. She did not observe any injuries. RP stated she wants to surrender SKIPPIE and bring him to the shelter tonight. I asked if she felt comfortable driving him to the shelter due her previous statement in her message and she told me yes. She already had his harness and leash on.

08/24/26 02:12 Arrived at the shelter. I set up a Kennel in BLDG 1 (Kennel 130). In reading the past memos on teh dog, I noticed that it was recommended he not be placed into a kennel without a top due to his height and possibility of jumping or climbing out. I prepared one of the “middle” kennels for this reason.

08/24/26 02:25 RP arrived at the shelter with SKIPPIE. He was laying down in the back seat of the vehicle and behaving normal. RP removed him from the vehicle with the leash that was attached to the harness he was wearing. I placed a slip lead over SKIPPIE and he was fine with that but was looking all around with a nervous demeanor. I did not observe any injuries or blood on SKIPPIE. I removed the leash from the harness and gave it back to RP. She told me SKIPPIE will try and bite if you try and remove the harness. I DID NOT REMOVE THE HARNESS for this reason due to officer safety. I was able to walk SKIPPIE to the kennel without issues. I did not try and place him on the weight scale due to his nervous demeanor. He did become reactive to the other dogs barking inside BLDG 1 as we passed by the kennels. He was lunging at the other kennels as I was trying to place him into his kennel. Once inside his kennel, I was able to remove the slip leash with no issues and exit the kennel. I placed caution signs on both sides of the kennel as a precaution. SKIPPIE was behaving normal inside the kennel.

Due to the incident with the adopter and the history of fearful and reactive behavior, we are suggesting rescue placement for SKIPPIE. When circumstances arise that make him feel uncomfortable, his baseline response is to lung and snap. Due to those behaviors, showing to the public poses a safety risk. If his emotional state is compromised at the moment, we would need to anticipate a bite attempt.