Hi!  My name is Teebo!

(Teebo’s story updated 6/20/22 with new photos & videos below)

You may already know about me and the story of my very scary escape & rescue earlier this year.  If not, you can learn all about it in the video at the bottom of this page. But the most important thing you should know right now is this: If you’re interested in adopting me, I really need you to read everything my rescuers are sharing here.  After that, If you think that I might be the one for you, please fill out an application - and the Camp Cocker volunteers will get right to work to determine if you just might be the one for me!  

When I came to Los Angeles from South Korea in March 2021, I was pretty terrified.  I came from a huge hoarding facility with 100’s of other dogs crowded into very tight quarters.  When I got to America, my rescuers placed me in a nice boarding facility while I waited for a foster home. I like other dogs, so that worked out well for me. Then, a nice family volunteered to foster me - but on the day they came to pick me up, I took advantage of an opportunity to slip out of their car, and I made a run for it.  Several people ran after me, but I was having no part of it! My rescuers say that I ran because I was terrified, and more than anything, they wanted to comfort me - to get me back and help me to feel safe.  What they didn’t know at that point was that I was scared of absolutely everything.  The more they combed the creeks and bushes looking for me, and calling my name, the faster I ran - in the opposite direction.  An amazing group of dog escape experts (Dog Days Search and Rescue) got involved and after 3 days on the run - in wooded hillsides, parks, creeks, busy roads and even freeways - I was finally returned to my tearful but grateful rescuers!

Once my rescuers got me back, a special Camp Cocker volunteer in Northern California, who has lots of experience with very timid, frightened, flight-risk dogs, asked if she could foster me.  So began the next chapter of my story.

Just so you have some idea of how stressed I was, I didn’t eat a thing for the first 5 days in my new foster home.  After I felt more comfortable, I started eating and she figured out what I liked to eat. I now eat very fast, but I also take treats very gently, which my foster mom tells me is a good thing! I don’t guard my food, and have never tried to steal my brother or sister’s food while they are at their bowl. I might try to sneak in though if they leave their bowl unattended . . . and I will lick it clean!

I have now been in my foster home for a little over a year and boy have I made progress! Don’t get me wrong, I am still scared of some things, but I am super comfy and secure in my foster home and with my foster mom and my brother and sister. I greet her with a dance and whimper with excitement when she comes home and she MUST say hi and give me some love before I relax. I just miss her when she is gone! My foster mom watches over me with a video camera when she is gone, but she says I sleep most of the time on the couch or on the cool floor if it’s a hot day. I don’t get into any trouble while she is gone. I know that I’m supposed to potty outside so she thinks I am one of the easiest foster doggies she has ever had! We used a belly band the first week, but I showed her how good I was at going potty outside and I didn’t have to wear one after that. I do prefer it though if my foster mom goes outside with me in the yard when I need to go potty or sometimes I’ll just sit outside the door.

I spend the day in her home office while she works and get to go out several times during the day, and at night, I sleep on the bed and sleep all night until she wakes up . . . even if she sleeps in. I used to sleep on the farthest corner of the bed, but now I sometimes sleep in my bed that is right next to her pillows. I almost always grab a stuffy toy to take up to bed with me every night and then bring it back down with me in the morning.

After about 6 months, I figured out that the couch was a pretty cushy place to sleep. Now I have my own bed on the couch and I get into it all the time and it’s just on the other side of the console so I still have my comfort space between me and my foster mom. I feel pretty comfortable with that, and sometimes sleep on my back with my belly exposed. I am a silly boy and sometimes sleep right next to the wall, facing the wall with my feet against the wall. Some other Corgi owners told my foster mom this is a typical Corgi behavior. I am definitely not a lap dog, but I will come up for some nose and belly rubs but I still like to keep some distance when I sleep.

I can be picked up, but I get really nervous and tense up so while I can be lifted up, I don’t really like to be held or carried around. I am quiet in the house and sometimes bark when I’m outside and I hear neighbors on the other side of the fence, but I usually come right back inside if my foster mom calls me as I really like my treats.

I have learned some new things, like sit, shake, lay down, and I even wait till I am told it’s o.k. to get my food after she puts the bowl on the floor. I am always on a leash before a door opens, but I am starting to get the hang of it when she says “wait,” I sit and wait for her to say “break” before I leap out the door with excitement to go for a walk. If I wasn’t on a leash though, and I ever got through a door, you probably would never catch me so you have to be super diligent or something terrible could happen to me because I still have fears of things.

Things that still scare me . . . when out for a walk people popping out of their garage and surprising me, or large RV’s and trucks parked next to the sidewalk, kids on bikes/scooters/skateboards, or my foster mom trying to untangle me from her legs when I wrap the leash around them. When I get scared, I try to run and pull on my leash, but my foster momma has a martingale no slip collar on me for extra protection and I also wear my GPS collar just in case for extra safety! Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE my walks and enjoy them 100% of the time, but she always has to be on guard to protect me from those things that still scare me and she is so calm that it helps me get through it. When she sees other people out walking, she crosses the street! If they have a dog, I sometimes whine because I like other dogs, but if they don’t have a dog, I will sometimes bark at them. I never know what I am going to do but she is always watchful and prepared. She always has a treat pouch to reward and distract me on walks as well. I get super excited on walks and sometimes just whimper with excitement, and after I go potty, I always wipe my feet and then jump with joy of my accomplishment so it’s a good thing she always has a good grip on my leash.

I have been going to special socialization training with my foster momma every week and I am starting to think people are treat machines! My foster momma always instructs people to stand still, let me approach them, and has them slowly give the treat with no sudden movements or loud noises, and they don’t try to pet me. Then I feel safer going up to take a treat. I might pull towards those people while barking, but will most of the time take a treat if those strangers follow directions. Otherwise I get super nervous and back up. My confident friendly dog brother helps me a LOT when it comes to meeting people. He goes right up to those strangers and gets treats so that makes me feel a lot more comfortable doing it myself - so I really need to have a confident brother or sister to help me with my nerves.

I am super scared of new people coming into my house and I will bark and bark and bark so my foster mom has to manage that. She will always hook me up on a leash and introduce me to these visitors out on the sidewalk and they always seem to have yummy treats with them. Then we walk for a bit and then all come in the house together. She keeps me on a leash though, even when they are in the house because sometimes I get scared if they move too quickly or get up from the couch or walk around in the kitchen. She is always on guard, fully aware of my surroundings at all times, and if necessary, she will put me in another room so I can calm my nerves while they visit. I do seem to do better with people like my foster grandma who I met the very first day I arrived at my foster mom’s home. It was a new place and she seemed to belong there even though I only saw her for the one day. I did remember her pretty well when she came back a couple weeks later but I was still a little nervous. I will need my new family to be completely aware of my needs when it comes to people coming into my home, taking the time to introduce me outside, and not waiver or skimp on the steps to make me feel comfortable while paying attention at all times.

I don’t really have a pet sitter because of this, but I LOVE the doggie day care when my foster mom needs to go away. I have been assessed and spent some time, a week once, and two weeks once and they said I was a little shy at first but opened up and loved playing with the other dogs. This is not a kennel with separate runs, but a big room full of couches with TV’s playing and it feels like home with lots of other furry friends around me.

I do great at the vet too! I turn into a little statue when I’m nervous so they can do anything they want and I don’t fuss. My foster mom does my nails on a grooming table and I’m scared, but I don’t fight it. She also brushes my teeth and I love the chicken flavored toothpaste. When she brushes me (I do shed) to get out all my loose hair, I let her do it, but I am not thrilled. I just sit still though and as soon as she lets me go, I will make my get away. She says I am also a little statue in the bath tub too.

Special needs 1: You can never be too careful in making sure that I don’t have an escape route - including open doors, gaps in fences, loose collars & harnesses, and loosely held leashes. Close attention is a must! I would not be a good candidate for a dog park as you might never be able to catch me and get me hooked back up on a leash.

Special needs 2: I'll need to be in a home with another comfortable, confident, easy-going dog. This should be a home with a securely fenced backyard and not an apartment or condo, and preferable a home where the owner either works from home or possibly retired (not gone for 9-10 hours a day).

Special needs 3: I need a very patient, quiet, calm, and super savvy, experienced shy dog adopter! NO children, no cats, and a quiet household with not a lot of visitors. You must pay very close attention to my needs, comfort, and body language when people come over to the house or meeting new people outside of the house or on walks. This must be 100% close attention at all times. After I’d been in my foster home for about 5 days, I began barking at people who came into the house, and I acted aggressively toward them. This has taught my foster mom that I need to be under constant observation, supervision, and restraint when people (even some relatives!) enter the house. It’s possible the core issue is that I feel I have to guard my foster mom, and protect her from other people who visit - or maybe it’s that I need to chase them out to keep them from taking her away from me - or maybe it’s because I’m just plain scared of other people! This is why we work on the routine of meeting people outside and spending the time necessary before all coming into the house, and then still managing me after that whether it be putting me in another room or keeping me on leash at a distance. I also seem to be very sensitive to routine. I love my foster mom, but if she comes in the house through the front door instead of the normal garage door, I will bark and it will take a minute for me to realize it is my foster mom.

Foster mom says that it’s very important to let you know these final thoughts, in her own words:

“Teebo has never shown any kind of fear or aggression toward me, or his dog brother and sister. No toy, food, or bed guarding, and no jealousy over the other dogs. He also will come over and initiate being pet when he sees the other two come in for pets, and he will join in and bob & weave for attention and is feeling more and more comfortable every day. He really is a super sweet boy, easy in many ways, who just needs super attentive adopters who will always make sure he is comfortable and safe in all surroundings. He loves to chase the squirrels in the backyard, hang out on the patio, enjoy the sunshine, watch the birds, and relax, but his all-time favorite thing is going for walks and he makes the cutest little excitement sounds while you are getting him hooked up and ready to go. All you have to do is grab the leash and it’s GO TIME!. He truly is one of the sweetest, most sensitive little boys I have every fostered. Some very special and lucky adopter is going to love this little man sooooo much!”

Thanks for listening - and thanks for caring!

- Teebo

P.S. I forgot to mention, I’m a male Corgi mix, about 3-5 years old, and I currently weigh about 22 pounds.

*** TEEBO HAS BEEN ADOPTED!!! ***