Mikey

01/09/2026

Muddy Mikey, that's his new name! This boy does not care if its cold, raining, snowing, muddy, he will want to go out and play in all of it!  And if he doesn't come inside covered in mud, you can bet that the other foster dogs in the house will have giant muddy paw prints on them!  Of course, Mikey has no idea how those got there, and no one else is telling on him!

Its been about a month in his foster home and Mikey would definitely do BEST in a home with another dog that he can run and play with.  His rescue requires a fenced yard for him, which he will thoroughly enjoy and use every inch of it.  He does have a big booming BARK, especially when he plays or wants another dog to play with him.  He loves just about any toy, any treat, and he's working at perfecting his begging eyes from a respectable distance away. He may need time to settle into a new home, and someone who understands that he may need help boosting his confidence in new situations.  Even though he wasn't in HOPE very long, he still comes with FREE lifetime training assistance from the HOPE Program.

01/02/2026

Happy New Year! Mikey is excited to get the new year started!  He didn't seem to mind the fireworks, but to be honest most everyone was asleep before they started.  He woke up with a few celebratory booms, looked at his foster mom, then the other dogs and laid his head back down.  He's getting more settled and even more brave and confident each week!

12/26/2025

This was Mikey's first Christmas away from his rescue.  He got to meet and play with a new dog this week who was visiting his foster home.  Mikey really loves to play and derives a lot of his confidence from other dogs.  We're hoping that as he learns to trust his foster mom and HOPE Trainer that we will have more success taking him out to new places. 

12/19/2025

Mikey is settling into his foster home very nicely.  He's already friends with the dogs here, has met a cat, and is learning a few new things too!  He's focusing on "4 feet on the floor" because apparently most people don't enjoy being slapped with giant dog paws every single time Mikey gets excited.  We're also working on confidence building because this big guy gets more than a little nervous when going to new places, and he tries to retreat back to his home.  He usually wins too because this boy is HUGE!

12/12/2025

Mikey left the HOPE Program today. He's going to be living with our HOPE Program Trainer so that we can work on his confidence and build up his basic obedience skills.  Sometimes the prison environment isn't the right learning environment for some dogs.  It can be loud and had sudden noises periodically.  Mikey was always good with the other dogs in the Program, but when he wasn't playing with them, he was hiding away with his handler in their cell.  Our Trainer will continue to give weekly updates Mikey's progress and we'll continue working to find him his forever home!

12/05/2025

Mikey recently met the new puppies, Delaney and Delilah, and proved himself to be a complete gentleman. Despite being much larger than them, he was wonderful during their one-on-one meetings. He allowed Delaney to walk underneath him, which seemed to make her feel protected. While it can look scary when Mikey charges at Delilah at full speed, he always slows down to ensure she doesn't get run over. He even lays down on his side so that she can play with him more easily. His handler expressed great pride in Mikey's awareness and social skills.

11/28/2025

Update with Mikey’s toilet foot. Nothing bad has happened and no diseases (for me or for Mikey!). However, Mikey did lose his buddy Booker (found him forever home!). Mikey, was always more comfortable when Booker was around but before Booker left he came over to Mikey’s door with a toy in his mouth. Instead of playing with it Booker dropped the toy off for Mikey to play with. It was Booker’s last and final gift and goodbye to Mikey. Obviously, Mikey was enthralled with the novelty of the new toy and still has Booker to thank for being a friend and support buddy.

11/21/2025

Update with the alarm clock! Mikey has been taught he doesn’t need to be my alarm clock. However, he does get too excited at times and I need to work on him when he jumps up. First of all, he can jump higher than me (not a fan of that). Secondly, he’s much taller than me when he stands on his hind legs. Third, well let’s just say he got really excited and started jumping on me and his foot landed in the toilet. LOL. Bad enough, right? Well, it gets worse. He quickly got his foot out of the toilet and jumped up again, but this time as I’m telling him ‘off,’ he decides to stick his toilet foot in my mouth! If you ask Mikey, he said I opened my mouth and allowed it to happen. I can confirm this was not the case of any sort of consent. So, if I get diagnosed with mad cow disease or hoof and mouth disease, you know why.

11/14/2025

Mikey has turned into my personal alarm clock. For the past few weeks Mikey has woken me up in a few different ways. Depending on how fast I respond to him. Sometimes he’ll whimper a little bit or just hovers over my face and breathes heavily. If that doesn't work he will slap me in the face with his paw. Ignore him some more and both his big paws are on my face. Turn to my side away from him and then he goes bonkers and jumps on the bed and digs on top of me like he's trying to dig to China. So, Mikey gets his way and finally I wake up. What time is it? Three in the morning. I'm going back to sleep. Finally have the alarm clock to wake me up at six in the morning. Progress!

10/31/2025

Mikey has learned two of my favorite pastimes…eating and sleeping. I love sleep and I absolutely love eating. Mikey has taken the two to a different level though. Mikey eats like there’s no tomorrow. I don’t think there’s such a thing as a full stomach for Mikey. He also likes his sleeping, and out of all the places to take a nap, my bed is his favorite. For the past week he’s combined his love of my bed and eating at the same time. When it’s feeding time, he’ll eat with his back legs and half on the bed while standing on his front two legs. I was wondering if this is considered a bed and breakfast?!?

10/24/2025

Mikey's third week in the program and he's starting to feel a little more comfortable with all the commotion and noise. Still have some work to do though. Mikey still loves playing with his new friend Charlie. They love to wrestle and chase each other around and everything is fair game, except when it comes to drinking water. Mikey wants the water all to himself. Not in a possessive way, but he won’t let Charlie drink any water, so Charlie tries to drink the water Mikey splashes out of the bowl. Absolutely hilarious to see. Charlie will try to maneuver closer to the water, but Mikey will squeeze Charlie against the wall and pin him there until he’s done drinking his fill of water. Loves to play but stingy with his water! LOL.

10/17/2025

Mikey's second week in the program has hit a few hiccups but Mikey has made a new friend in Charlie. They love to play off leash together in the yard chasing each other around. The cutest part of them playing is when Charlie has a ball in his mouth and Mikey tries to take it from him by grabbing a hold of the ball with his teeth. Instead, it just looks like Mikey's huge mouth smothering Charlie's entire head. Charlie likes to tackle Mikey by taking out his ankle where Mikey's go-to is using his size. Sometimes I feel like a human bowling ball when Mikey is running away from Charlie. The two are way too fast and nimble for me to move out of the way, but small price to pay to see friends at play!

10/10/2025

Mikey's first week in the HOPE Program has been awesome. Earlier this year I had Mikey's sister Hailey and they definitely are very similar. They both sit the same, huge, strong, and have a tinge of puppy energy but are reserved. Mikey is energetic but can relax and be a couch potato. However, when it comes to playing with a specific plastic blue ball, Mikey becomes obsessed. The ball is bigger than a basketball but Mikey is still able to puncture the hard plastic and carry it around. “Carrying” around is not the right word. He proudly displays what he's carrying and I don't blame him because no other dog has been able to do this. He's so proud of the ball he pees with it and YES, you guessed it…he will also take a poop with the ball in his mouth. As proud as he is, it isn't hard to get the ball from him and to “wait” until allowed to resume play. I'm proud of ALL of him!