Nia is a sweet 16 year old girl but is very anxious and afraid of people. This has not changed much in the four years she has been with her current foster. We've established a routine over the years that we are both comfortable with. She has places where she feels safe and those are pretty much where she spends her time. She loves other dogs and completely ignores my cats. She likes to be out in the yard with the dogs and when I do yard work out there she will follow me around. If I look at her she runs away and she is happiest when I ignore her. She seems secure here though, so she does adapt with time. She has just never really learned to trust people. She can actually be quite bossy at dinner time.

Any prospective adopter will need to understand that she will never be a pet or a companion. You can't pet her, or hold her, or play with her, or comfort her. She can't be walked because everything scares her and she is a huge escape risk. She has to be supervised because she eats fabric when she is nervous (she's had a couple of major surgeries to remove stuff from her intestines). She does not mind being crated at all and must be crated when she cannot be supervised. When I was working out of the house she did not mind being crated for a full working day. She needs a securely fenced yard and preferably at least one other dog to be her friend. She does not like to be alone; it makes her anxious and increases the chance she will chew up something and eat it. She is not entirely housebroken but will use pee pads reliably and will ask to go outside when she needs to.

A person or family without children and who does not have a lot of visitors would be ideal. A peaceful home, a dog companion, and people that are home most of the time is a must. Despite her anxiety she is a good, quiet companion, with a fair amount of personality and spunk. She can actually be quite bossy at dinner time. She is just not a fan of humans.

updated 7/10/2020