A rescue dog who doesn’t like to be touched still found a way to show how much he cares for his foster mom. In an adorable video posted by redditor KattooKing, Max the Schnauzer is worried his foster mom might be cold, so he nudges the blanket over top of her to keep her warm.
KattooKing captioned the clip, “My foster dog, Max, is too scared to let me touch him but makes sure I’m taken care of.”
My foster dog, Max, is too scared to let me touch him but makes sure I’m taken care of. from r/aww
After watching the cute clip, several people commented that she could keep him, but she said she won’t. “I don’t want to keep Max! He is a great dog who will find a great family. My job is to be here for him during the in between!” KattooKing added, “If I keep Max I can’t help all the others.”
KattooKing revealed that she works in a police department and Max was brought in to Golden Paw animal shelter in Joplin, MO. She stepped up to foster him. He’s around 8 years old.
Although she has had “tons of dogs who LOVE to snuggle with me while in foster” she knows that “Max 100% would not snuggle currently. He’s too shy to even have me pet him. Time and patience!”
She accredits his attitude to being in a “weird new environment” and that he is “pretty fearful of people”.
Although it’s hard not to think he could use a cuddle, KattooKing says it would be the wrong thing to do right now.
“Petting him would be throwing him outside of his comfort zone and would make him MORE fearful. It would be 10 steps back from the work I’ve put in.”
“I’ve fostered many cats and dogs. Max has steps set up for him to get more comfortable with people and touch.”
Max may look young, but he turns out to be around 8 years old and was an owner surrender. That’s all KattooKing knows of his past, but she says that he enjoys nuzzling and covering other things, not just her feet.
“Max does this with his toys, food, blankets, etc. Nuzzling and burying is a very common schnauzer trait.”
He doesn’t display any aggression or attitude. KattooKing reveals, “Max is a sweet old guy, there is nothing I need to be careful of besides if I’m giving him enough love.”
“Shelter dogs have weird quirks! Max follows me around and absolutely shakes when he’s touched, out of fear.” But she does have to touch him in order to put his harness and leash to go outside on walks. “I get down on my stomach and army crawl to him to clip his leash on.”
Because of his fear, she is taking “very small steps to him to be comfortable.” That means not going to dog parks (for now) and paying attention to his body signals. As it turns out Max turns out to not be food motivated, and “will ignore chicken, turkey, treats, etc, even if you just want to love him.” So for now, she’s giving him his space and learn at his own pace.
In the meantime, “Max has a covered kennel, bench, and window sill he loves to sit in. If I’m lucky, he’ll let me sit on the couch with him. He also has a big brother cat who shows him all the good stuff human love does.”
But given the video was taken on his second day of his stay with his foster family, he’s doing incredibly well.
“This was the second day I had him and I’m very lucky that he was so close to me!” KattooKing plans on keeping Max for as long as needed, pointing out every foster dog is different.
“It is a HARD job. You will fall in love. I’ve had animals die in my arms. I’ve had them for years or months or even days before they get adopted. I love every minute of it. I’ve had puppies who are crazy and old dogs like Max who just need someone to love.”
“I would cry my eyes out if Max jumped into bed with me,” she wrote, and says when Max is officially adopted, “His new owners are going to be so lucky.”
Pupdate:
Max has found a forever home. Says KatooKing, “My foster dog, Max, was adopted over a year ago thanks to the amazing people on Reddit,” adding, “Max was adopted by a lovely family about 2 hours away from the rescue he was from. He still lives a very happy and comfortable life with them. This is an encouragement from me to everyone who is able to foster senior dogs and cats, it changes their entire lives.”
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