Name:   Noodles Charles (aka Nickie)  

Description:   ~ 5 yrs old ~ 22 lbs ~ fostered in Kensington, MD ~

Nickie is temporarily unavailable, pending medical needs assessments.

Nickie is a sweet dog that is calm and humble. He interacts with both people and other dogs in a gentle fashion. There is not a mean bone in his body and he is not at all aggressive. If pushed by an assertive dog, he may protect himself with a small snap, but it’s a one and done warning to treat him more respectfully. He prefers to spend time with other dogs rather than by himself and tries to sneak on their pillow with them to take a snooze. He doesn’t understand if they are less than welcoming since he is so friendly to all dogs that he meets. For Nickie, each dog he meets is instantly part of his circle of friends even if the affection is not returned. He keeps trying to teach them that together is better.

Nickie is trying to learn the house rules. It seems a little hard for him to grasp the concepts since he apparently spent the first 6 years of his life without much guidance or supervision. He is trying to master “go potty outside”, “sit” and “off” for starters, and is slowly progressing in his education. The fact that he loves all training treats is a strong positive. He doesn’t have some of the more negative puppy behaviors like chewing on everything or racing around aggravating everyone, but rather enjoys just being near to his family (people and dogs). Of an evening, he is happy to spend time on your lap while watching TV.

When he arrived in rescue, he had a respiratory infection, and needed a little time to recoup. Now he is over that, but he has had two seizures. We have started anti-seizure medication and hope it will control the condition. Other than that, he is healthy and happy. We feed Nickie in a crate because he is always ravenous, and I doubt he would respect the “your food and my food” concept. He is currently underweight and is thin as a rail. We hope to fatten him up a little, but I believe he may have a slightly sensitive stomach, although this is hard to evaluate with all the vetting he has undergone in two short weeks. Now that the initial round of vetting is complete, we will be able to assess his digestive issues if there are any. Once he has a chance to settle down and relax, his digestion may improve.

Nicki is a little shy when he first meets you. This is a result of his past treatment (which is a mystery to us) and all the changes we have made to his life in the last 2.5 weeks (dogs don’t generally like change). I believe Nickie is extremely brave to survive with his personality intact since he was dropped off in the night repository at the shelter without much ado. It has to be traumatic to be wisked up and dropped off at a totally new and unknown place without any indication that some kind person would provide care. For this reason, I’m not surprised that loud voices and noises startle him, quick movements can frighten him and it takes some time for him to trust enough to wag his tail for folks. The tip of his tail by the way has a kink in it. We are not sure if he was born that way or if it was broken in his previous life. His tail doesn’t appear painful, but it does seem a little sensitive.

Nicki does like to play with other dogs at a slower pace than the frantic puppy mode, and he will chew on flexible nylbones for entertainment. He is crate trained, but needs some to work on walking with a lead. If you have a gentle dog looking for companionship, please contact BRSM about Noodles Nicholas Charles. He can be your best friend as well as your dog’s best friend.
posted 12/02/18 and updated 12/08/18