Save Percy - Send him to Sanctuary

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Hello! Firstly, thank you for coming to this page and reading our story.


My name is Julia. I am 21 years old and live in Upstate NY. I am currently unemployed and home from college due to several debilitating health issues.


I am asking for your support in placing my dog, Percy, in a sanctuary in order to keep him from being euthanized.


My parents and I brought Percy home from a nearby shelter in March after falling in love with his insanely sweet demeanor and habit of leaning his head on our chests. He came from a kill shelter in Arkansas. The trainer had warned us that he was a fearful dog, but our childhood dog had been quite fearful, so we had experience with fear in dogs. It became clear once we brought him home that he was very fearful of men especially, and would cower just from the sound of a deep voice. It took him several weeks, but eventually he warmed up to my father; they now have a loving and trusting relationship, and my dad takes him on a walk every morning. His kind and calm personality made it seem as though he would never have the desire, or gumption, to threaten any human.


My brother Jackson came home from college about two months after we brought Percy home. At first, he loved Jackson more than any man that he’d met - immediately, he sniffed his hand, allowed him to pet him, and even gave him kisses. We were beyond excited to see him so calm and trusting with a new man.


However, an incident occurred one night involving three of Jackson’s friends (that Percy had never met) talking in the front yard, coming into the house over and over, between 12-3am, in which Percy barked nonstop - clearly he was really frightened.  The next morning, when my brother came out of his room, Percy saw him and started barking nonstop again. He barked in a way that we’d never seen him do - he edged around the table toward Jackson, displaying all his teeth and seemed like he was about to bite him.


Since that morning, every single time he hears my brother’s voice or sees him walking around the house, he barks passionately and viciously. This incident seems to have brought him to a breaking point. We have tried training him, desensitizing him to Jackson by having him bring him treats and calming him down each time he walks in the door. Unfortunately, as soon as my brother stands up again, he starts barking.


It is not safe for Percy to be free in the house while Jackson or any male is in the house, nor is it safe for us to attempt further training with him without a muzzle. Most likely, this would take months, and may or may not be successful. The shelter trainer explained to us that the combination of fearfulness and aggression is extremely difficult to reverse through training. The trainer also let us know that she would try to work with him if we brought him back to the shelter, but because of the potential danger that he poses to any home environment, she would most likely euthanize him within a few weeks’ time.  

After much research and many phone calls to various shelters and trainers, I’ve found a sanctuary that is perfect for him. It provides lifelong care for dogs that cannot be safely placed in homes.


Due to the small size of the sanctuary, and the small amount of funding they have, they must ask for $5,000 as funds to take care of Percy for the rest of his life.


In short, I am not able to pay this amount, nor am I physically able to work at all to procure these funds at this time in my life - multiple autoimmune diseases, infections, and a severe pain disorder have, at times, kept me from being able to stand for longer than 10 minutes, walk more than a half mile, and has at times kept me bedridden. My father, a couple weeks after bringing Percy home, had several eye surgeries due to recurrent retinal tears and detachments, and has been forced to stay in a head down position with minimal walking for several months. My mother is taking care of both of us, has a full time job, and has a very dependent mother with dementia  that lives nearby that is in her full care. (We had NO problems with taking care of Percy up until the barking incident - to the contrary, he has been a majorly healing and joy-filled presence in our lives these past few months.) My brother will be living full-time in this house come the end of August, and Percy either has to go back to the shelter or be placed in this sanctuary by then. 


Percy is smart, sweet beyond words, and loyal, though damaged. We are not capable of providing a completely male-free home for him, and all our love and good intention are not enough for him.



Through all of this, my love for him has not wavered. It has been strikingly clear since we first brought him home that he was abused by a man; the amount of pain he has most likely experienced in his life is disgusting. It is equally clear to me that I must do all in my power to make sure the rest of his life is as safe and peaceful as possible.


We K N O W that he has so much more life to live and placed in the right circumstances will have that opportunity.



My only choice is to rely on the generosity and love of my community and beyond here.

I am reaching out to you with the strongest of hopes that you will be able to help me, in this next month, place Percy in a sanctuary where he will have a chance to live out his life in a community of safety and love.