✨✨Tapen✨✨

Rescue Story

Tapen was rescued from a neglected owner.  He was tied up with a short chain outside of the previous owner's farm, day and night without any food or water.  His previous owner raised dogs to sell to the dog meat trade.   According to his rescuer, his living condition was so terrible that they can’t describe it without tearing up.  Fortunately, the rescuer was able to save him before he was sold.  We have the honor of helping this handsome boy on his journey, which has been badly disrupted by a tragic situation that his previous owner put him in.

About Him

Tapen is amazingly sweet, smart, and happy. You wouldn’t know he’s a rescue except that he’s afraid of most things outside the house, which makes walking him a challenge. Outside, he’s scared because the world treated him very poorly until he was rescued. He’s training to overcome that fear, and with ongoing training he will overcome it.

Inside the house, he’s very well-mannered, doesn’t make any messes, and plays well with other dogs who play well with him. Sometimes he gets so happy and wags his tail so hard that it wags his behind, too. (An actual case of the tail wagging the dog.) Most mornings, he gets up to greet you. He loves food and treats, and he’s very well behaved: he won’t take food even if he can reach it (like on a coffee table).

We nicknamed him “Bear” (or “Little Bear”) because his head and face are strong and stout like a bear cub. But he’s more of a Care Bear than a regular bear. He even has a Care Bear power that we call his “Bear Stare”: he’ll sit and fixate unblinking eyes on something as if it’s the most interesting and important thing in the world. He looks very intense when doing this, but don’t be alarmed: he just has an uncanny level of focus when he feels safe and secure.

Tapen is an outstanding dog not only for his personality but also for his unique and handsome looks (he gets a lot of compliments): mostly black fur with dark brown “highlights” and white “accents” on the tips of his toes and one spot on his chest. His dark coloured fur is like night camouflage: he disappears from view at night. (That’s why he wears a reflective collar.)

Tapen will do best with a family that’s mostly quiet and moderately active. Since he’s currently afraid of the outside world, he prefers to stay inside or in the backyard; so many visitors to the house, or frequent trips outside the house, or long runs, or things like that aren’t his thing yet. He likes to run around the backyard by himself or with another dog his size and with his good manners and gentle play. Apart from overcoming his fear of the world and its unknowns, he’s a loyal, respectful, and happy Little Bear.

We are working on 'Fear Facing' training now to teach him that the world is safe and he doesn't have to run away. He is very smart and making progress, but this will take some time. We are looking for an adopter who will continue this training so he can feel safe in any places.

With other dogs: He was attacked and almost bit by another dog when he was in Korea. With this reason, he might misunderstand as an ‘attack’ signal if a puppy or hyperactive dog wants to play with him without saying gently ‘hi’ to him. 

He had a tough life. It is understandable that he panics while walking and showing some reactivity against other dogs. When he was a puppy, he had seen his mother killed by people. He had seen his sibling who was living with him killed by the owner. He feels extreme fear against strangers on a walk, rotating his body 360 degrees to check any dangers to protect him. He was attacked and almost bit by another dog when he was in Korea. With this reason, he might misunderstand as an ‘attack’ signal if a puppy or hyperactive dog wants to play with him without saying gently ‘hi’ to him. 

We are looking for an adopter who is willing to teach him that he can trust strangers on the street. Having more walks, going to more public areas, and encountering more strangers will be helpful for him to learn that nothing bad happens. 

Because he panics while walking, and he had a tied life before, we are looking for an adopter who has a fenced backyard, so he can have some peaceful space for him to relax. 

Medical Notes

🐾 Overall healthy