In Search of a Good Home, Hercules: Goofy Dog With a Special Diet

Attention all dog lovers! We received a message the other day about a sweetheart of dog who has a special diet and is in need of a good home.

Here's the message that was sent to us from Hercules owner:

In April 2016, I rescued a dog while visiting Colorado. Little did I know, I was in for a huge financial surprise.

The poor dog was about 150 lbs when I found him. The first two weeks I had him here in Iowa, he refused to eat dog food and never used the bathroom when I took him for walks. He was always scratching and kicking his paws. He always wanted people food, which was a huge no-no since he was so over weight.

After many, many vet visits, we discovered that Hercules is allergic to bagged dog food and has regional allergies. I spend about 2-3 hours each week chopping veggies, boiling 4 cups of rice, cooking 3 lbs of ground turkey, and scrambling a dozen jumbo eggs. This is what he eats three times a day.

Unfortunately, I lost my job and can no longer keep up with his special diet. I have contacted many, many rescue groups and sanctuaries and came up empty handed.

Hercules is a blue nose pit. He's protective of his people but if you feed him raw veggies, he'll love you immediately. He doesn't do well with dogs that bark a lot. Thunder storms scare him. He has many cat friends, but needs to be introduced slowly.

He will get bored if let alone and has been known to eat things he shouldn't (like stuffed animal carcasses).

I just know in my heart that he cannot go to a humane society. The odds are against him. All of the local no kill shelters have a long wait list. I've reached out to different places all across the country to no avail.

For those who are interested, contact Sarah Hamerly: girlitomboy@gmail.com • 309-631-0962