Companion Corner: Harley and Maggie at Berkshire Humane

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — There's a bonded pair of small dogs looking for their new family at the Berkshire Humane Society.

iBerkshire's Companion Corner is a weekly series spotlighting an animal in our local shelters that is ready to find a home. 

Harley and Maggie are a bonded pair that have been at the shelter since mid August.

Canine caregiver and adoption counselor Simone Olivieri told us about the two. 

Harley is an eight-year-old female Terrier and Jack Russel mix, and Maggie is a five-year-old pug mix; they need to go home together.

"We are looking for a home for them to go together, since they're very bonded. They really like each other. They don't like other dogs outside of their pair as much."

But the two love being around people and especially like getting food, and while they may be older, they don't act it.

"They are both very sweet with people. Very loving. They love food. They like to play, run around in the pen, go for walks. So even though they're little and they're small and they're a little bit older. They still really like to be outside and be active, but they're also content to just cuddle as well." 

They love to play with toys and be outside together.

"Harley likes to play ball a little bit. She likes to grab tennis balls and run around. Miss Maggie here loves to just get the zoomies and have fun and have her own kind of fun and run around and play. They are great on leash together. They're nice and easy to walk together."

They originally had a home that could not keep them due to their playful and loud nature.

"They originally had a home where, unfortunately, they could just no longer afford them anymore, and they were rehomed to somebody. And then that person brought them to us because realized that getting two little dogs who are a little barky and excitable was a little bit too much for this woman who had them. She was a little bit older and realized that their energy level and their barkiness was too much for her to handle."

The two still need to learn more manners and need more of a home to be able to bark and not bother others.

"They have some naughty behaviors. They take advantage of jumping up on tables if there's a chair nearby. They will certainly jump up on a table for food, and they can be very reactive and barking at things that startle them or noises. They can be a little bit noise sensitive, especially Miss Harley. So that's why we're looking for a home setting rather than an apartment, just to help keep them a little bit calmer, and also just so that they're not barking and bugging anybody."

The two love food and will need to eat separately when it comes to meal time.

"They are very clever, as you can see. Maggie is the one that loves food the most. She is a little chow hound, so they do have to be separate when they're eating for quite some time, because if Harley does not finish her food, Maggie will swoop right in and eat your food. So they should be separate for eating and making sure that Harley actually gets to eat all of her food. Maggie is a little bit pushy over food and snacks, but makes it very easy to train and work with her because she is so willing to come over and work for food," she said. 

The two will need to be in a home with older children and someone who will pay attention to them and let them be their playful selves. They can go home with other cats but no other dogs.

And someone who will be willing to train them; the Humane Society also has a great place to help train if need be.

"We are saying teens and up for them, just because they can be a little bit skittish with too much body handling and whatnot. So they would do better with teens and up rather than little kids. Also, just someone who can work on some of their training because they can be pretty reactive, and they just need some work on some obedience and whatnot. So someone who has a little bit of training knowledge or is just willing to bring them to some classes, they could come here to family dog school where we offer a lot of classes on reactivity and also just basic obedience. And someone who's going to give them a lot of love, a lot of attention, and is going to take them for walks throughout the day, play with them, and just give them all the cuddles and love that they deserve because they're lovely little dogs."

The two are ready and waiting for their new family. 

"They are just really fun, very friendly, just really all-around solid little dogs. They haven't been very stressed at the shelter. They've been happy to be here. I think the big thing is the barkiness, so they will be very very quick to bark, especially Harley. So if there's a dog they see that they don't know, or a sound that they hear, they are definitely going to bark about it. So someone who does not mind that as kind of part of the household, that they're going to be loud and they're going to be right there involved in everything that you do, so as long as you're okay with that, they are just wonderful little companions."

You can visit them at the Berkshire Humane Society and read more about him on the website.

The Berkshire Humane Society is open Tuesday through Sunday. The adoption center is open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday, and 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday.