ABC57 News Pet of the Week: Meet Summer

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- It’s Thursday and that means get your tails wagging for the ABC 57 adoptable pet of the week.

The segment continues to shine a spotlight on pups looking for forever homes.

And, this week we have a pet who’s patiently waiting at the South Bend Animal Resource Center for you.

If you’re looking to brighten up your summer, our Pet of the Week, Summer, is ready to do just that. 

She has been at the shelter for about a month now.

The shelter says she is a Shar Pei Mix breed with the breed tending to be very loyal dogs that have a protective instinct in households.

One interesting fact is that the breed ‘Shar Pei’ means ‘sand skin’ in Chinese, that’s because their coat is rough and sandy.

She is just a few years old, meaning the best of both worlds as Summer is both a cuddler and playful.

She would be great for a single-dog household because she loves her space and has a lot of love to give.

But what is it that sets summer apart from her rescue friends?

“Basically, being mama bear, she wants to protect something and she wants you to protect her. So, with her toys she will be mama bear but for you she’ll hug you or kind of be at your side like a little child pulling at your jacket wanting your attention, wanting to be noticed,” said Sue Durski, South Bend Animal Resource Center Volunteer Coordinator.

One thing the shelter learned about summer is that she has a momma instinct to love you and her squeaky toys forever but you're probably questioning why squeaky toys.

One day after an adoption event, staff took Summer to pick out a toy and she picked one with a squeaker that she quickly became obsessed with and protects it as if it were one of her own pups.

When she's around any squeaker toy, you can see her excitement grow.

She whimpers and howls as if she is searching for her pups but she only does that when she is around toys that squeak.

And every time you throw a toy, she gently grabs it and returns it to her kennel and nestles right next to it.

“She is ready to go home, the longer she’s here the more anxious she becomes and the way she’s whimpering even right now, she wants somewhere calm and sweet for her babies, her stuffies, and her bed and I think in a home, she won’t whimper anymore and she’ll have her security and that’s definitely what she needs,” Durski said.

Summer recently attended an adoption event and all she wanted to do was hug everyone she met just like you saw in our video so if you are interested in adopting Summer, you can head on over to the South Bend Animal Resource Center.