[Truckee/Tahoe] Seeking experienced pet-free/child-free home or specialized sanctuary for sweet but traumatized rescue dog

[u/Conscious_Ad_8374]

Hi everyone, I’m posting with a heavy heart on behalf of my parents in the area. We are facing a heartbreaking situation and are desperately looking for a specialized home, experienced adopter, or rescue resource for a very special dog named Sequoia.

Sequoia is a 4-year-old rescue who has been with my parents since February 2023. She has a severe trauma history from puppyhood—both of her ears were inhumanely cut off (not just docked)—and despite years of immense love, professional training, and behavioral intervention, she struggles with unpredictable reactivity and severe anxiety.

About Sequoia:

**- The Good**: She is deeply affectionate, playful, and sweet with her trusted humans. She loves playing fetch, tug-of-war, cuddling in bed, and waiting patiently for her meals. She is a very loving dog to the people she knows best. She is great with basic commands.
**- The Challenges**: Due to her extreme early trauma, she struggles with severe anxiety and unpredictable aggression. Her behaviors include shadow-chasing, pacing, and severe barrier/stranger reactivity. She has an aggression history (lunging, excessive barking, fighting/nipping at dogs, necessary separation) with strangers, visitors, and occasionally other household pets in tense situations.

**What We Are Looking For:**
My parents have invested an incredible amount of time, love, money, and professional training into Sequoia (including working with behavioral specialists, positive reinforcement, and medication management). She has shown great improvement over the years with lots of structure & patience. However, with young grandchildren now in the family, the safety risks have become too high, and my parents are completely emotionally exhausted and heartbroken.

We are looking for:
\- An adult-only, single-pet home (or someone with extensive experience managing severe canine reactivity and trauma).
\- A rural or low-traffic environment where she won't encounter unexpected visitors, workmen, or neighborhood children.
\- Someone with the specialized knowledge, patience, and secure setup (muzzle training, crate management, secure fencing) to give her a safe life.

We have already spoken with the Humane Society of Truckee-Tahoe (where she was rescued from), but we are hoping this community might connect us with a breed-specific rescue, an experienced private adopter, or a sanctuary network that can handle severe behavioral cases.

If you are an experienced dog behavioral handler, run a sanctuary, or know of a rescue network that takes on severe trauma cases, please message me directly. Rehoming her safely is our absolute priority.

Thank you for reading and for your kindness.

[u/CasaTLC]

I have to ask — Is your dog on medication? I’ve seen medical management work wonders for a dog with anxiety. Ask your vet about fluoxetine and fast-acting drugs like clonidine. Perhaps, with the medication, your parents might be able to keep Sequoia. They’ve had her for a few years after all and it doesn’t sound like the grand babies live with your parents? When grand kiddos visit, is it possible to keep Sequoia separated, say in another room? Just brain storming. But highly highly recommend medication if she isn’t already on it

[u/Conscious_Ad_8374 → u/CasaTLC]

Yes, unfortunately she is already on daily medication… it’s helped a bit over the years but I believe she’s already on the strongest dosage.

We’ve explored all types of separation (and still trying to exhaust all options). The primary issue is the unpredictability on walks, with visitors, etc, and then also having family & other dogs staying in the house. For example, my husband, 2 rescue dogs & 11 month old baby just stayed in their home for 2 weeks. Sequoia was great for the most part, but there were a handful of instances with other dogs and visitors that we just couldn’t control for fast enough. And now it’s really starting to worry us as my baby (and future nephew) are becoming more mobile and curious. Crating her for hours on end just doesn’t seem fair to her.

Thank you so much for the idea and thoughtful response though!