okapi

This pet needs emergency placement. Please click here to go to our emergency placement page for more information.
https://newhope.shelterbuddy.com/Animal/Profile/Index/c247c004-f449-4b8f-2e3b-08df1ccdba7b

This pet is available only through ACC New Hope partners. To adopt or foster, please complete the pre-screener form below. Inquiries sent directly to ACC will not receive a response.

Pre-Screener Form

Okapi is at risk due to behavioral concerns. Okapi intially presented as fearful and reluctant to leave her kennel. On one occasion, she growled and bit at a hook that was used to remove a handler's lead. As her length of stay has progressed, Okapi has become wiggly and attention-seeking with familiar handlers. But when returning her to the kennel, she begins thrashing and then escalates to leash biting that has been slowly increasing in intensity. Medically, Okapi is apparently healthy but is in heat.

Okapi came into the care center as a stray and we have limited history on her behavior in a home environment. Okapi has displayed fearful behavior in the care center, such as growling and snapping during medical examination, growling and staying at the back of her kennel when being leashed up, and being reluctant to re-enter her kennel. In calmer environments, she has shown social behavior with staff, and during the week she spent with her finder, they reported that she was social, affectionate, and playful. 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.

Name: Okapi
Animal ID: 264960
Gender: female
Color: black
Location: Queens Animal Care Center
Weight: 54 lbs
Age: 2 years 1 weeks