Herding Home Animal Rescue - HHAR

Meet Merlin: An adorably fluffy 1.5-2Y Toy Aussie who was rescued from the euthanasia list at a Houston-area shelter.

Don’t let his 17lb size fool you, Merlin shows a lot of working/herding breed traits and is a bundle of fun and energy… he can easily match the physical activity of a dog 2-3x his size!

Merlin’s top characteristics:
💞 Very friendly and affectionate! He is sweet with new people (and at the vet!)

🔐 Distinctively loyal to his own people

🧠 Highly intelligent and motivated - picked up most of his basic obedience very quickly

🦴 Motivated by food and toys

🚗 Good in the car

🧩 Active, but very easy to entertain. Merlin loves fetch, tug, flirt poles, chasing the jet setting on a hose (his fav and great for a hot day), squeaky toys. He may be small but he is young and NOT a couch potato - he is at his best when he gets at least 2-3 hours of exercise and enrichment per day (walks/jogs, backyard play, puzzle treats, training, etc.)

🐈 Good with other dogs and cats (he lives with 2 dogs and 3 cats and has met several other new dogs). He can be very herd-y when another dog is running, especially a new dog, so would not recommend him for a dog park setting

Merlin’s work-in-progress:
🤍 He has likely been roughly handled in the past (likely by a dog catcher, since he was a stray) and is sensitive to being pushed into a confined space, like a crate. He is pretty tolerant with collar handling when it’s gentle and by someone he trusts, and he does go into a crate willingly when a treat is tossed/his food is in a crate and can settle down in there.
💜 On walks, He has been showing some interest in herding large trucks and likes to bark at runners. He’s not difficult to redirect and isn’t difficult to handle (being so small). Getting some of his energy out before a walk (with a 5-10 min play session) has significantly reduced these instances
💙 He is jumpy for attention! He is still working on improving his manners when he gets excited to see you
💛 He’s marked in the house and needed a belly band, but hopefully (now that he’s freshly neutered), that’ll improve.

adoptdontshop

Mother’s Day Adoption Event!

Have nothing to do in Austin tomorrow? Take your mom out for some saucy comfort food at and cuddle rescue puppies.

Meet our adoptables, learn about our mission, and indulge in Austin’s best plant-based burgers.

Mission Burger / Barley Bean
3600 S. Lamar Blvd, ATX
11am-2pm

Happy Mother’s Day!

Our rescue already has a Dire Wolf: her name is Sadie, and the shelter almost euthanized her.

This sweet, gentle girl would never hurt a fly, but has extreme amounts of trauma. We regularly take in behavioral cases, and she’s probably in the top 3 of most traumatized. Her level of fear is comparable to our Korean Meat Trade dogs (dogs rescued from illegal dog meat slaughterhouses in Korea).

Even after months of rehab in foster care, she is only just now starting to explore the world outside her kennel, and shakes like a leaf if you approach her.

Despite only being about 2 years old, she has one of the worst heartworm infestations we’ve ever seen. The parasites migrated to her lungs, and she required a cardiologist specialist to see her through her treatment. We are thousands of dollars deep into her care, and are still working on fundraising for the rest of it. She just finished her last immiticide injection, and has 4 weeks left of crate rest before her treatment is (hopefully) complete.

If you can chip in to save this rescued Dire Wolf, we accept Venmo, Paypal, Zelle, and Card for tax deductible donations.

Venmo:
Zelle: [email protected]
Paypal:
Card: herdinghomerescue.com/donate

Thank you to and her other donors thus far.

Just a reminder: Wolves are wild animals.. not pets. We discourage the breeding of wolf dog hybrids. They require very specialized care, and even with proper facilities, they end up in rescue due to being difficult exotic animals to safely own. It may also be illegal where you live. Sadie is not a wolfdog, she is just a pretty little angel.