Maxine is a 1 year old female Poodle mix who weighs in at 17 pounds.  This dog's adoption fee is $500.  If you are still interested, please read more below.

Maxine came to a shelter as a stray, masquerading as a Maltese Mix, where she was transferred to A.R.F. and passed herself off as a poodle mix. A good bath and haircut however revealed that she has the body of a Shih Tzu.

Maxine is a top notch sweetheart and a great companion. While very cautious when she first arrived, Maxine has grown more confident and is pretty relaxed at home. She has been able to stay at home alone uncrated without any accidents or property damage for a couple of hours at a time, and counting. She has grown used to the sounds and scents of the neighborhood, and now loves being outdoors, even at night, minus the bad weather moments that no one likes. She prefers time in the back yard to walks on the leash, which still annoy her.  She enjoys her people but doesn’t mind disconnecting for a break once in awhile.

Maxine doesn’t bark much. If she does bark and it is accompanied by eye contact, than she is actually speaking to her human and usually needs to go outside. She is fully housebroken and now lives for treats as well as snuggles.

While at first she appeared to be afraid of other dogs, she has shown improvement as she is now able to make silent eye contact with the neighbor dogs through the fence without running for cover. She has also managed a trip to the pet store, where she enjoyed peeking at the other visiting dogs.

She recently discovered a visiting outdoor cat, which she approached carefully, but maintained a polite distance while also demonstrating total excitement. The cat in turn ignored her until it got bored and left on its own. The foster mom’s suspicion is that she would have asked the cat inside to play and have some goldfish (crackers?) if she thought the family would approve.

Her coat has grown a bit after her big shave and it is nice and soft! While she dropped a little bit of hair after her 1st haircut and shampoo, she hasn’t lost anything since. Her people shed more than she does! Her fur does mat easily, so she will need a lot of brushing. No worries though, she enjoys it. She also loves having her paws wiped down. All very good stuff for owners who want to feel appreciated!

The best thing about Maxine is how she greets her people. She approaches with little paw reaches inviting you in to her. She is sweet and loving and incredibly welcoming nearly every time you enter the room. She will almost immediately expose her belly for a rub, even when she would rather ignore you (when it’s late and she wants to sleep).

She isn’t too interested in toys. Squeaky toys in particular bother her, which is one reason we suspect she would do better with older kids. She just doesn’t like getting startled. Her staple occupation is looking outdoors and currently seems low energy. As she enjoys snuggle play, her foster mom suspects she might like another very sweet furry friend (probably feline) to play with, but it is only a suspicion, as she has no cat in her foster's home.

One final note, if she could be anything else besides her own small breed non-shedding mix self, she would be a bird hunting dog. Her eyes are on the sky. The good news is however…that she is too slow to catch one!

Maxine is microchipped, up to date on all vaccinations, housetrained, and spayed.  This dog's family will be required to complete a basic obedience course of their choosing.  A meeting will not be scheduled until you have an approved application, so if you are interested in adopting this dog, fill out an Online Application today!  Once your application has been approved, an ARF volunteer will contact you to arrange a meeting.