Age & Sex: 3 yr old Male	UTD: Yes
Weight:   70 lbs.	Other Dogs: Yes
Color:  Flashy Fawn	Cats: Unknown
Ears: Natural	Children: Under 5: ?     Over 5: ?
Tail: Docked	Professional Training Required: No
Neutered: Yes	Microchipped: Yes
Shelter Surrender	Location: Denville, NJ
Adoption Donation $300

6/14/08 - Dempsey has been adopted.

6/3/08 - Hi Boxer Lovers – I am Dempsey and my foster mom would like me to tell you a little bit about myself. Now, I don’t mean to start off with a brag but I need to tell you that I am really pretty good with my commands. I know how to sit, how to wait, and how to stay. I come when I’m called, I can heel (most of the time – sometimes I get distracted and mom helps me to refocus), I will release things when mom asks me to, I don’t counter-surf, annnnnnnnnd mom says that I am VERY VERY good about my crate….all she does is open up the door and point inside and I just trot right in. And then when I am in the crate? I pretty much just sit and think happy thoughts til I fall asleep. Mom also wanted me to tell you that I am not a ‘wanderer’ – I stay pretty close to my foster mom or dad when we are outside. I can tell that mom is very happy with me and my good manners. Me? I just think that she is easily entertained. She says that there are a couple of things that I need to work on: they are called ‘down’ and ‘off’ and she practices them with me. You see sometimes when I go to say hello to people I like to stand up and be all tall just like them and give them a lovin boxer hug but mom is telling me that this really isn’t necessary and that people actually like it better when I keep ALLLLLL my feet on the ground. Let me tell you, when she told me that I was like, ohhhhhhhhhh, who knew. I will say that some of the time I remember but if I forget and need to be reminded, mom is good about doing that….and that’s a good thing because I like for people to like me – in fact I like it a lot. I am just that kind of a guy. Another thing that I like is my fursister, Mikeybones – we have so much fun playing together (Look! Mom even took some pictures of us having ourselves a time!!!)
And then ANOTHER thing that I really like is my skinbrother, the one mom calls ‘Peaches’ – he’s 12 and I don’t think that that is HIS real name but he doesn’t call me by my real name either – he calls me “Kissy McKisser” because I love planting big ole sloppy boxer kisses on him all the time (and yes, that embarrassing mom took a picture of that, too. Sheeesh.) The one thing I am still not too sure about is my furbrother Kane – sometimes I think I like him and sometimes I think I don’t. I even gave him a playbow the other day but he wasn’t in the mood so he got mad and then I got mad. Mom is working with us to work it out and I keep telling her that I am trying to keep an open mind.
Mom also wants me to be honest and tell you about something else: I am often protective of my food with the other dogs. I don’t like it when they get too close to me when I am eating – I am scared that they are going to want some of my kibble and then there won’t be enough for big ole hungry me. Because I came from a shelter Mom doesn’t know what happened in my past to make me this way but she is teaching me that my getting snippy about it doesn’t work and is unacceptable behavior. I have already made progress in this area but she says that she expects more and with time and patience, she is helping me to improve. An easy fix that I like is sometimes she lets me eat all by myself in my crate – just me and my food. I really like this arrangement a LOT but mom still wants me to work on better dining manners outside of my crate. I like to make my people happy so I am working on this.

5/19/08 - We continue to get to know Dempsey – known often as ‘Demps’ or even more often as ‘Dempers’. He is just getting over kennel cough and with more energy his personality is beginning to emerge. He is playful with me – kind of hopping around like a loveable looney tune – but the one he saves his really playful side for is my submissive female pit mix, Mikeybones. They are like long lost friends – both playbowing to initiate play, both willing to be submissive in their play, both boxing (Mikey’s a boxer wanna-be)….they will play for a looooooong time til both are just plain worn out… play, play, play and then nap, nap, nap. I had his crate in my husband’s office for the first week that he was here and we learned quickly that he could be left uncrated alone in the room without any worries. That being said, we still crate him at nite which he is very, very good about. He is also good about the furniture and will only come up when he is invited. Once he’s up there he likes to either lay across your lap or he will gently place his face on your chest, look at you a little with his big brown eyes, and then fall asleep – he’s a lovebug. He is still getting into scraps with my dominant male, Kane, but at this point they are both equal opportunity offenders. At first, Demps would challenge the pecking order with Kane; I reminded Demps that I was in charge and he backed off. With that resolved, Kane then decided it was his job to start challenging Demps. Now they are pretty even in terms of challenging each other and we are currently working on seeing if two dominant male dogs are capable of getting along.

5/13/08 - Dempsey is proving himself to be a real love of a boy. When I walk into a room, Dempsey generally approaches gently, that is, he doesn’t run over and knock you down…just gently pads on over. Put your head down close enough and he will always offer up some nice boxer kisses. He looooooooooves to be petted. He will stand still as stone either with his head in my lap or standing next to me with his head down as I pet him or massage his neck; he literally stands there long enough to just about fall asleep on his feet (my husband: ‘maybe he’s part horse.’) He saw the vet the other day and the vet had several things to say about him: one, he estimates Dempsey’s age to be closer to three; two, he said Dempsey seems to be an intelligent dog – I would concur (as an example, he didn’t seem to be used to being asked to sit and wait as his food is being put down but in just a couple of days he knows the drill.) Three, the vet stated that Dempsey was in great shape (the vet didn’t feel that he was underweight), and lastly, the vet commented that Dempsey is extremely well behaved. The other people at the vet’s office all commented on how ‘beautiful’ he is and one of the vet techs even expressed an interest in adopting him. So you will want to get those application’s in if you are interested in making this boxer boy a part of your family. And lest I sound unrealistic and make it sound like Dempsey should be canonized, I will keep it real and add that while he has gotten along famously with my female dog, he has had a scrap or two with my male….I am working on making it clear with this very smart loving dog that I am the top dog and he doesn’t need to campaign for the position.
 

5/9/08 - Dempsey arrived here yesterday at noon – transportation provided by the good people of The Mayor’s Alliance for NYC Animals, thank you very much. Dempsey was brought to Animal Control of NYC as a stray a little less than a week ago and they estimated his age to be about four. He is probably on the average size for a boxer albeit a little on the taller side; he DEFINITELY needs to gain some weight. He is a flashy fawn with a black velvet mask, natural ears, and a little longer than average docked tail – a very handsome boy. He is also VERY friendly, VERY sweet, and VERY kissy. He seems to know some commands and is a joy on the leash – constantly checking where you are, very little to no pulling. He was walked at least 4 times yesterday and really seems to enjoy his walks; he definitely has some of that boxer energy. He seems to be used to a crate as last night he went in without an issue and slept without a peep. I haven’t introduced him to my two resident dogs – he and my two are currently in the ‘sniffing each other out from opposite sides of the door’ stage. He has had a couple of accidents but that may be more of an issue of us working out our timing together than any real housetraining concern.

5/5/08 - We are working on quite a few owner surrender intakes, but we always give priority to the shelter dogs. They are the ones that really have a time limit and then are put to sleep in high kill shelters. The owner surrenders don't usually have any such limit.
So, Roscoe and Melly, his sister were turned into the shelter. I am finding out about them today, as much detail as I can, which is not usually much.
Any offers to help will be greatly appreciated, and save a life too.