Adopt Sadie: A shy and gentle wallflower looking to bloom

This week’s Pet of the Week is Belleville Area Humane Society’s Mercedes, or Sadie for short, a 2-year-old boxer mix that was described by the ASPCA’s “Meet Your Match” program as a wallflower.

“Shy, yet charming canine looking for a patient owner and relaxed lifestyle. Looking for gentle guidance to get me out of my shell,” Blake Richter quotes from the program description. “Treat me sweet and kind and I’ll blossom.”

Richter has worked at the shelter for about three years and actively tests dogs according to the six step Meet Your Match strategy.

Meet Your Match is a series of steps that test a dog’s personality. The shelter will put a dog in a modular home equipped with a kennel, a shelf (or table), a chair and various things with which dogs might interact both positively and negatively.

The shelter workers will then do a series of actions, like leaving the room, re-entering, observing from cameras and playing with toys, to evaluate what kind of personality the dog may have.

However, the shy and gentle Sadie was an obvious wallflower before she even took the test.

“Mercedes is calm and well mannered, she (doesn’t) really pull on the leash,” Richter said. “She is just very gentle with everything. She real gently takes the treats and toys from your hand.”

Mercedes came to the shelter as a puppy, along with a litter of about 11. They were all named after popular car brands. Her original owner didn’t like the name Mercedes and called her Sadie for short.

Once she was returned, a different dog had been named Sadie, so she reclaimed her original name to avoid confusion.

She will happily respond to both — if you have a handful of treats that is.

Sadie is available for adoption at the Belleville Area Humane Society, 1301 S. 11th St. For more information visit their website or call them at (618) 235-3712.

Pet of the Week is a weekly feature highlighting metro-east animals with a story to tell. It includes pets at every stage of their journey — from shelter to forever home. If you would like to nominate a pet, contact Patrick McCarthy at pmccarthy@bnd.com or at 618-239-2513.

Previous Pets of the Week

Sunshine, Samson and Henry have all been happily adopted to warm and loving homes.

Jazzica, a cute kitty with a unique walk, is still looking for her forever home.

This story was originally published March 17, 2016 at 10:57 AM with the headline "Adopt Sadie: A shy and gentle wallflower looking to bloom."