For any adoptable pet at CHS, the mission for each of them is more than just finding a home, it’s about finding the right home. Every pet is unique. They have a unique background and personality. They have unique needs, including medical needs and behavioral needs, and then there are the things they need in their new home with their new family.

Uniqueness is celebrated at CHS, where every pet’s care is a personal matter, and every adoption is a personalized process for the pets and people who visit. It’s all about finding the right match!

And Martin, a 1-year-old Labrador retriever mix, is looking for his right match right now. In fact, he’s been looking for a while!

When he was a 4-month-old pup, Martin was wandering around Louisiana. As a stray in an area with many others like him, it was going to be difficult to find a local home for Martin. So the Bissell Pet Foundation reached out to CHS to see what could be done.

A transport was arranged to get Martin and a few of his pals north, where homes are more easily acquired for pups in need and where there are a few more resources available for care like spays and neuters, and where pets can get unique and individualized medical attention and behavior care.

So Martin was brought to Connecticut and CHS got to work in prepping him for his new home. That’s when a little limp was discovered in Martin’s step. Even though it was hardly noticeable on this energetic little lab, the medical team wanted to know what was causing this issue so that Martin could go to his new home as a happy, healthy pup. Thorough examinations and even an assessment from an orthopedic specialist revealed that Martin had a small fracture in his leg that wasn’t operable. Martin instead was going to need physical therapy to heal – and that’s where his medical journey began.

This good boy was on track to get lots of attention! He was recommended for range of motion work, core strength work, and he even spent time working on an underwater treadmill. He spent months in CHS care, getting better each and every day. But poor Martin was just a little pup who wanted to run and play and be carefree. He didn’t want to be cooped up. But he had to be careful so as to not make his injury worse. That was where the behavior team stepped in. Martin needed a lot of enrichment to keep his mind active since his body couldn’t be. Growing up is hard for everybody, but it’s especially hard for a young dog growing up in a shelter environment instead of a home. And because Martin had been a stray for some crucial developmental months, the behavior team needed to work out a few of Martin’s quirky behaviors. So, between a program to reduce some food guarding issues, learning important commands like sit and down due to his exercise restrictions, and toys and puzzles to entertain him, Martin’s behavior was improving significantly alongside his health.

Despite the challenges he had to overcome both medically and behaviorally, Martin made it through to the other side!

Now that Martin is healed and happy, he’s hopeful that he will find a home in no time so that he has the chance to be a puppy and have all the fun he can with a family of his very own. If you’re interested in learning more about Martin or know someone who might be, please check out his profile at CThumane.org/Martin and fill out an application to adopt.

If your home is a match for this good boy, an adoption counselor will reach out to set up an appointment to meet with him in person.

He’s so excited to find a new home, and he thanks you for learning more about him!