Bruno

Bruno joined the HOPE program on October 7, 2022. He’s an adorable meatball who comes to HOPE from our good friends at Canine Rescue of Central Pennsylvania. He’s about five years old and very cute!



Bruno’s PetFinder Profile can be found here: https://www.petfinder.com/dog/bruno-53994785/pa/dillsburg/canine-rescue-of-central-pa-inc-pa255/

1/13/2023  Bruno continues to be a great dog and do well with commands. He learned a few new tricks this week. I have to continue to keep him engaged during training, otherwise he tends to get bored. All Bruno wants is to be loved on and petted. He is very spoiled when it comes to attention. He’s definitely a people person dog!

Bruno found a new spot to sleep, “In My Bed.” It’s hard to say no. He has his own spot at the foot of the bed where he curls up and goes to sleep. Occasionally, he opens his eyes and looks up to make sure I’m still there.

I really do love Bruno. He’ll make a great companion for a very lucky person or family.

Bruno got Gold Stars this week for rolling over without using treats, giving belly, and raising his paw when I ask him, “Who’s a good boy?”

1/6/2023 I worked with Bruno this week and two other handlers and their dogs, Oreo and Roxy. We have been practicing walking with the dogs on leash around the exercise yard, within feet of each other, giving them treats. Bruno has been doing great and so have Oreo and Roxy! . hey all seem to be interested in each tore, and I know that soon, they will all be playing off leash together!

Bruno, Roxy, Oreo, and Rocco all went for w walk to R-Block. Bruno did very wel. He allowed Roxy and Oreo to get close to him even when the R-Block staff was petting him. Bruno seemed comfortable, but exhausted, from the walk. Bruno obeyed every command and had a huge smile on his face!

Bruno got Gold Stars this week for being great with Oreo and Roxy and all other dogs he interacted with, and for learning a new trick! He will tap me on the head when I ask him “Who is a good boy?” and “Do you love daddy?”

12/30/2022  Bruno is doing great. This week, we had some homework to work on and he did well. I kept him engaged with high value treats. His focus is on the treat most of the time. Bruno will do the command that I ask, and then a few he already knows, just to get the treat.

I’ve been working with him 10 minutes no treats, then 3 to 5 minutes with treats. Without the treats he gets bored. But when I bring out the treats, it’s game on! He’s ready!

Bruno got Gold Stars this week for “left paw” and “right paw,” with and without treats, and “high five.”

12/23/2022  This past week, it was heartwarming for me to observe Bruno with other people in the prison and the other handlers. His personality really shines, and he makes people smile wherever he goes. And, Bruno is always glad to perform all of his tricks for treats! He loves to lean into you allowing you to pet him. He is so good with everyone! He continues to play with Oreo and Roxy through the fence in the play yard.

12/16/2022  Bruno is fully recovered from his ear injury. His ear is healed, and it is no longer sensitive to touch. Bruno was able to socialize with Oreo this week, running along the yard with the fence in between them.

Bruno continues to brighten the day for everyone he meets. I and others are surprised that there have been no adoption applications on Bruno. He is a favorite around here! His personality is amazing. He is a laid back dog who loves attention and is as happy to be active as he is to snuggle. Bruno is READY to be adopted!!

12/09/2022  This past week was a bit of a set back for Bruno. On a day that was supposed to be a great day for him (and for Hazel), going to an event to show off their great looks and model some Christmas clothes, ended up with Bruno getting his ear pierced by Hazel and Hazel going to the show and stealing all the attention! Unfortunately, accidents happen, but thankfully, Bruno is on the mend! He’s such a sensitive guy that the first couple days after the accident, he just wasn’t himself, and his ear hurt so we didn’t leave the cell or his crate very much.

After that, and when his ear started to feel better, than we could start interacting with friends again, and he MISSED EVERYONE! And so many people missed seeing Bruno out and about too! It hurt to see Bruno so sad, and then to have to tell people about what happened, it was just so sad. But Bruno, being the dignified gentleman that he is, has finally gotten back to his normal self, looking for attention at every opportunity!

12/02/2022 This week Bruno met someone new and it was an almost instant connection! It was amazing to see Bruno come out of his shell and be so calm and gentle with him. When Bruno really likes you, he will lean into you, and that’s how you know he’s really comfortable. His future home would be one where there are no small creatures or cats. He seems to get a long with some dogs, and would prefer space from others, but he also doesn’t like to share attention either, so he might prefer a home that he can call all his very own.

Bruno continues to be such a good dog! And he’s been doing really well with the new handler that joined the group too. He likes to stop at his cell each morning for water and lets the handler take him out. Bruno is also doing well around Tank and Roxie, as they know when to give him space and they’re generally pretty calm, low key dogs too.

11/25/2022  This week, I took Bruno to a new area of the block and he did really well. He also did well meeting Hazel through the fence in the exercise yard. He tried to play bow with her, but she wanted nothing to do with it! I was really proud of the way that Bruno behaved.

This week, I painted a mural on B-side, and Bruno hung with me while I did that. He also spent about two hours with one of the counselors and did really well. He’s a great dog!

11/18/2022  This week we were blessed with snow. Bruno didn’t know what to do when the door opened and we stepped out. Although he doesn’t seem to like the cold, he ate a lot of the snow. He was definitely ready to come back into the warm indoors.

This week I had the opportunity to leave him with one of the counselors for about 90 minutes. He did great! There were no complaints while I was away, just a lot of love when I returned. He loves to play with Tank and Roxy and was interacting with them this week.

Bruno has been doing extremely well and is continuing to improve with training. I’m very proud of him!

11/11/2022  This week went well. Bruno and Roxy went for the visit to medical records. They both did so good. I was glad to see Bruno so close to Roxy while they were both getting petted. They both performed tricks and basic commands.

This week, one of the other handlers and I worked with Bruno in the yard to try to correct his jumping and mouthy behavior. We walked from gate to gate with Bruno in the middle of us, and when he jumped or got mouthy, we corrected him. He picked up on the “no” command pretty quickly and would walk nicely with us. He also learned that he can go play with his toys in the yard instead of jumping up on us. Bruno is also doing good with obeying his commands even with a lot of distractions. All in all, he is doing great. He’s shown so much progress during his time here!

11/04/2022  I enjoy watching people’s faces light up when Bruno is around. Bruno just leans in to them while he is being petted. At times, he almost falls asleep on the spot. Bruno has become a therapy dog to the RTU side. He gives them moments of escape and allows them to feel better when they are down. During their bingo sessions, Bruno is the good luck charm. People want to be around him and when they win they are so happy. He brings so much joy to others.

Bruno has recently been wanting to sleep in my bed at night. But it does get crowded! He just curls up next to me, and I pet his head until he falls asleep.

Bruno gets gold stars this week for not being reactive to any of the other dogs. And, he’s doing so great being around people, even when it’s noisy and crowded, like during commissary day.

For anyone interested in a loving dog who does not want much other than to be loved, Bruno is for you. He’d be great in any environment.

10/28/2022  Watching Bruno come out of his shell is amazing. Many inmates and staff comment on that. He is meeting new people every day. He loves to be petted and leans in on you, and he does many tricks for treats–very appropriate for Halloween! Bruno has easily become an inmate and staff favorite.

Bruno is doing much better with his play–he’s not jumping at the leash.

I’ve been doing relaxation/breathing exercise with Bruno, which he seems to love. Most times, he falls asleep when we’re doing them.

Bruno is not crazy about Russo, so we are working on getting them to peacefully coexist.

Bruno is a great loving dog who just wants to give love and be loved.

10/21/2022  I can tell that Bruno has been through a lot in his past life. We have a lot of work to do, but both he and I are up to the task! He is doing better with being around a lot of people and loves being petted. Everyone loves him. But he has this other side to him that if you don’t know any better you would think he’s being aggressive. He does get mouthy and does growl when he’s playing. I have been working with the mouthiness, and he seems to be getting it. But he does initiate play and that is how he is used to saying that he wants to play. And he only does it when we’re outside. Once he gets to that point of excitement, I check it right away.

I have been working on relaxation exercises with him and soft touch. It really seems to relax him–he usually falls asleep.

He’s learned “paw,” “switch paw,” “roll over,” and “back up.” Bruno is also doing well with recall, wait, and stay. I’ve been taking him to some different areas of the Unit so he will feel more comfortable, and he’s doing well. I also no longer have to slow feed him, since he no longer eats like it’s his last meal. Bruno is enjoying all his toys and playing fetch. He’s a work in progress, but we’ll get there!

10/14/2022 Bruno’s first week in HOPE has been going well. I’ve been helping him settle in and slowly introducing him to new areas around the Unit. He gets a bit nervous when a lot of people are around, which is completely understandable. So mostly, I’ve been spending one-on-one time with him so he can get to know me before meeting others.

Training is going well. He is learning new things. Bruno is very treat motivated. He gets overly excited when treats are involved, so I am working on correcting him when he jumps on me for treats. His play is also a bit intense so we are also working on taming that down a bit.

I definitely see the potential in Bruno considering all that he has been through. It is obvious to me that Bruno has been through a lot. I’m here to help him put his past behind him and look toward a very bright future.

Bruno got Gold Stars this week for sit, lay down, bow, target high and low, kisses, heel, front, other side, place, and kennel up. He got along so well with Russo and Tank. He played with them on leash. He also learned to climb the stairs and met a few new people.