22-060 Zack was only 8 months old when he was surrendered because he was very excitable, jumped on people and nipped at hands – typical Golden puppy behavior. His owner, who lives with her disabled sister, thought he might hurt the sister, even if accidentally. Although not yet neutered, he was up to date on his vaccines. He was initially placed with a family in Prescott. He behaved himself for all of two days and by the end of a week, they decided he was too much for them.

The next placement was with an adoptive couple in Glendale. They renamed him Sparky and made a valiant effort to train out the puppy behaviors, but the dog was definitely out of control, so much so that AGR made the decision to enroll him in the three-week intensive training program at Partners Dog Training School. The adopters understood that if AGR paid for the training they would be expected to attend eight follow-up lessons, which they did. Those lessons took a little longer than 8 weeks though, because Sparky had contracted a Giardia infection, which took a month to eradicate, during which time he had bouts of diarrhea and vomiting and wasn’t much interested in food. Finally, he was healthy enough to be neutered and for the obedience classes to be completed. The adopter commented: 

Sparky is a sassy ball of energy! He loves digging holes, running at top speed in our backyard, and swimming in the pool! We throw his Frisbee into the pool and he loves playing fetch with it! He's got jaws of steel and has chewed through so many Bene Bones we've lost count! He loves meeting new people and other dogs and we're working on him gaining confidence outside the house. He's a cutie and we love him!