Joy is a 6-year-old 60 lb. Black Mouthed Cur mix who was picked up as a stray in Darlington, South Carolina. She was named for her demeanor, and quickly became a staff favorite at the shelter. Joy spent several weeks with a foster home, and then made her way north to the Upper Valley in early July. Upon her arrival, Joy had some emergency dental work done, and then started her heartworm treatment in late August. She charmed all of the medical staff she has visited!

Joy enjoys the company of adults and is looking for the slower pace and predictability of an all adult home. She lived with three other dogs of varied ages and a cat in her foster home in South Carolina, and currently lives with a 9-year-old male Bully mix in her Upper Valley foster home. Joy enjoys coexisting with other dogs, and can be occasionally playful, but would prefer the company of other older animals.

Joy has excellent leash manners, takes a couple strolls around the neighborhood daily, and loves walking with her person on peaceful country roads. She is a bit anxious walking in the neighborhood and sometimes barks at oncoming people and dogs; she has shown improvement on this reactivity with training that respects her comfort zone. Joy is muzzle trained and wears her muzzle out on walks as a training tool to give her the space to grow more confident with people outside of the house. Joy loves to go for rides in the car and is comfortable there when her people are running errands.

Joy is house and crate trained, and loves to lounge around in the house when her family is home and is an expert cuddler. Joy needs to be in a crate when her family is gone due to some mild separation anxiety. She enjoys stuffed kongs to keep her occupied when her family is gone and willingly goes in her crate when asked to. Joy likes soft squeaky toys to toss around and play tug with, and excels at agility tasks like jumping over items, hopping onto things, and tricky balance work. She likes to keep her mind active and agility is a great way to do it. Joy would love a home that has some experience with dogs, is lower traffic, and is committed to continued training in anxiety reduction and management.