Date of intake:: 4/4/2026

Means of surrender (length of time in previous home):: Stray; history unknown

Date of assessment:: 4/8/2026

Summary:: Darwin has not acclimated well to the shelter environment and has been highly fearful and shut down during his stay. He can be reluctant to walk at times and remains avoidant of interaction with handlers. His tail is tucked, body tense, whale eyes, and he will seek either a hiding spot or an exit. Due to these concerns, a handling assessment could not be conducted.

Summary (6):: 04/13/26: Darwin is lying on his kuranda bed as handler approaches. Handler cracks open the kennel door and attempts to lure him forward with treats and a soft tone, but he shows no interest. Handler slowly drops their lead over Darwin's head, and he readily exits kennel, skittering along the hallway and will stop and look back behind him for several seconds at a time and has to be coaxed by handler. He continues this until arriving at the Canine Behavior Office. Darwin is kept on a slip lead due to his exit seeking the day before. He stands next to handler, trembling but will lean into petting along his side and neck and settles slightly. After his session, he is returned to kennel safely. 4/13/26: Darwin is standing at the front of his kennel with a tense body as handler approaches. He retreats to the back of his kennel as the handler unlocks the door. He is able to be quickly leashed and he then pulls with a tense body and tucked tail on the way to the behavior room. He would constantly stop walking and look behind him along the way. In the room, he would slowly walk around with a tense body and tucked tail. He would constantly approach and hard stare at the door to seek exit. He would jump up at the door to seek exit. He would sniff the handlers in the room with a tense body and then walk away. He pulls frantically on the way back to his kennel and quickly enters with no issues. 04/12/26: Darwin is lying on his kuranda bed as handler approaches. He sits up and will look at handler as they unlock the kennel door, but he does not come forward. Handler pushes the kennel door inward and drops the lead carefully over his head and he slowly exits the kennel, walking with a low frame and skittering to the Canine Behavior Office. Darwin is clipped to a drag lead and free to explore the space. He will slowly approach handlers as they walk around the room and sniff their legs before disengaging. Darwin begins to exit seek and will continuously jump up onto the door. Handler holds his drag leash and walks him around the room, but he approaches the door to jump on it a few more times. Darwin skitters back to his kennel with a low, tense frame, at times circling the handler or zigzagging as he walks. He is returned to kennel safely. 4/9/26: Darwin is laying down in his kennel with a tense body as handler approaches. He stands up and retreats to the back of his kennel as the handler unlocks the door. He has no interest in treats and is able to be quickly leashed as he attempts to run out. Once leashed, he pulls with a tense body and tucked tail on the way to the behavior room. In the room, he would slowly walk around with a tense body and tucked tail while trembling and heavy panting. He would constantly approach and hard stare at the door to seek exit. He would sniff the handler with a tense body and then walk away. He pulls frantically on the way back to his kennel and quickly enters with no issues.

Summary (7):: 04/05/26: Darwin is trembling at the back of his kennel as handler approaches. Handler cracks open the kennel door and attempts to coax him forward with treats and a soft tone, but he does not come forward, continuing to hunch over on his kuranda bed and tremble. Due to Darwin's kennel being heavily soiled, handler continues with taking him out of kennel. Handler drops their lead over his head to leash him. Darwin plants himself and cannot be coaxed forward so handler uses moderate leash pressure to guide him out of kennel. Darwin balks in the kennel hallway right outside of his kennel. After a lot of coaxing, Darwin will take a few steps forward and out of the kennel room but balks in the doorway. A second handler holds up a sheet behind him to attempt to coax him forward, but he skitters around and will circle on leash and plant himself multiple times. Handler uses coaxing and moderate leash pressure to guide him towards the Canine Behavior Office. He plants himself in the hallway between two kennel rooms and a third handler crouches down to coax him forward, but he shows no interest. Second handler uses the sheet they're holding to cover him and pick him up, carrying Darwin to the office. He tolerates being picked up but maintains a trembling frame throughout. He paces the room and will allow brief, light petting along his neck. After his session, he follows third handler back to his kennel room with a tense, trembling frame, tucked tail, skittering as he walks. 4/4/26: Darwin has a tense body and widened eyes and refuses to exit the crate while in the middle of the medical hallway. When the behavior handler approaches, he has no interest in treats or toys and would turn his head away to avoid eye contact with the staff members assisting. He begins to thrash and baulks when the handler attempts to remove him from the crate. He is then given a moment and is then removed from the crate as the handler applies leash pressure and jogs backwards as the other handlers pull the crate away. He then launches pass the handler and baulks to the ground at the end of the leash while trembling. He then has a tense body and tucked tail when he is brought inside medical for his vaccines. He is able to be vaccinated while he continues to have a tense body and tucked tail while heavy panting. He is then brought to his kennel in pre-exam. When reaching the kennel, he begins to thrash and back away and refuses to enter the kennel. The handler gives him multiple breaks before having to muscle him in. Once he is in, he tries to back out as the handler quickly closes the door. Once he finally turns around, the door is able to fully close and the handler is able to unleash him and lock the door.

Date of intake:: 4/4/2026

Summary:: fearful, stressed

Date of initial:: 4/6/2026

Summary:: timid, shaking

BEHAVIOR DETERMINATION:: New Hope Only

Recommendations:: No children (under 13),Place with a New Hope partner

Recommendations comments:: No children (under 13): Due to Darwin's high levels of fearfulness and avoidance, we recommend an adult-only home at this time. Place with a New Hope partner: Darwin has not acclimated well to the kennel environment and has allowed only minimal handling since intake. We recommend placement with a New Hope partner who can provide any necessary behavior modification (force-free, positive reinforcement-based) and re-evaluate behavior in a stable home environment before placement into a permanent home.

Potential challenges: : Fearful

Potential challenges comments:: Fearful: Darwin has been significantly stressed and fearful during his stay in care. It is important to always go slow and give him the option to walk away from any social interaction. Darwin should never be forced to approach anything that he is uncomfortable with or to submit to petting or handling. It should always be Darwin’s choice to approach a new person or thing. Darwin would do best in an initially calm and quiet home environment and should be given time to acclimate to his new surroundings. Please see the handout on the Decompression Period.