Animal enthusiasts all around the country have been following the story of Raphie for weeks. Raphie is a French bulldog who originally gained notoriety when an adoption post referred to him as a “fire breathing monster” and characterized his less than perfect demeanor.
Ralphie’s “jerk” demeanor and prior behavioral problems were warned of, yet despite this, many individuals showed interest in the dog. A few weeks later, Ralphie was adopted.
Ralphie’s happy ending, however, turned out to be too good to be true because his third return to the shelter was due to his poor conduct, which once again proved to be too much for his new family to handle.
Although they discussed their plans to keep looking for Ralphie a home, the shelter isn’t given up on him.
A Facebook post from Ralphie’s home, the Niagara SPCA, on January 17 initially attracted the public’s attention. The SPCA decided against emphasizing Ralphie’s positive traits like most adoption posts do.
They freely referred to Ralphie, a French bulldog with a history of misbehavior, as a “fire-breathing monster” and a “horror in a rather little box.”
He’s a complete jerk—not even half, according to the Niagara SPCA. He is the owner of everything. You will face his fury if you try to test his control over THE things. If you exhibit a moment of vulnerability, you ready to be taken advantage of. Such a blast, huh?”
Ralphie had previously lived in two houses; the first supposedly took him in for boarding and training but was unable to instill in him the necessary discipline.
After that, he was adopted by another family, but they also gave him back to the shelter because he “bothered” their other dog.
Ralphie won hearts online and the shelter had a lot of requests for adoption despite their warnings and assurances that the “Mother of Dragons” would make the ideal home for him.
Ralphie, the shelter’s “favorite devil,” was adopted, according to an update provided on February 4 by the shelter.
She called Ralphie a “nipper,” spotted “a few things” wrong with his conduct, and said she was “totally in love” with him. She also said she was devoted to helping him with his behavioral difficulties.
Ralphie’s happy ending, though, turned out to be too good to be true.
Ralphie’s story received another, more depressing update from the Niagara SPCA on February 14: he had been brought back to the shelter a third time.
Ralphie ended up being a little too much for his adoptive mother. Ralphie was returned to the SPCA without criticism, acknowledging that it had shown out not to be the best fit after all.
The adopter had the ideal household dynamic, but they concluded that Ralphie proved to be too much for her. “Congratulations to her, though, for choosing well. Both of them made some poor decisions, yet they parted ways peacefully.
The shelter said that they were going to treat Ralphie’s behavioral issues much more seriously, adding that it was “back to square one” with him.
They announced that Ralphie will be enrolled in a rigorous six-week board and train program after finally being able to contact Ralphie’s original owner for information about his past. The price of the program is $6,000.
They indicated that they would start looking into new homes for Ralphie straight away, but after three failed efforts at homing, they decided to start looking for the ideal place for Ralphie.
Because of Ralphie’s history of biting, they request that potential adopters do not have any children or other pets in their home. A letter of interest and a résumé with prior dog-related experience are requested.
Also, they hope that Ralphie’s future owner will be able to keep working with his new trainer and provide him with the ongoing guidance and training he need.
The announcement of the refuge did not go unnoticed. Several questioned the SPCA’s decision to spend so much money and time trying to change this dog’s behavior when animals of other breeds, such as pit bulls, are frequently put to sleep for the same reason. Others started to wonder why the shelter was making jokes about what now seemed to be real problems with Ralphie.
The Niagara SPCA responded by writing that they frequently spend just as much money (if not more) on assisting dogs of all kinds, including pit bulls, and do not euthanize for space. They justified their humor as well, stating that calling Ralphie a “cutesie fun naughty boy” had assisted in spreading the word about him and raising funds for his training.
