Sugarfoot

Sugarfoot is an adoptable male Pit Bull Terrier looking for a home at Philadelphia Animal Care and Control in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He is fully grown and medium in size. He is currently on the shelter's euthanasia list with only 3 days left, listed due to lack of space. Adopting Sugarfoot, or even sharing his story, could save a life before it's too late.

SugarFoot ACCT-A-258251 is currently considered urgent and at risk of euthanasia due to length of stay and lack of space for incoming dogs. SugarFoot must have confirmed placement with an ADOPTER, EXPERIENCED FOSTER or RESCUE PARTNER by MONDAY, OCTOBER 12TH at 10AM. Should SugarFoot's medical or behavioral status change, his urgency and timeline for placement may also change. Meet SugarFoot! This handsome 2-year-old tan and white boy came to ACCT Philly on September 12th as an owner surrender after more than a year with his family. His owner shared that he may not have always been treated kindly before coming to them, and when he first arrived at the shelter, he was absolutely terrified. He trembled at the back of his kennel, wouldn't touch a single treat, and needed lots of gentle encouragement just to take a few steps outside. But SugarFoot has come SO far! Little by little, he started trusting the people around him. He began eating treats, coming out to greet staff with soft eyes and low tail wags, and leaning in for pets. Now his tail starts wagging as soon as he sees the leash, and he comes right out of his kennel ready to go. Staff describe him as 'the total package.' He's handsome and suave, struts with a little flip of his paws when he walks, and just wants to be right by your side. He's a big-time leaner and takes treats gently. SugarFoot has also been having a great time with other dogs! He's had good greetings with every dog he's met, and in playgroup he zooms around, play bows, and enjoys push-pull play while taking good breaks. His owner also reported that he was good with children, though how he does with cats is unknown. As SugarFoot's confidence has grown, so has his puppy-like energy. He can be jumpy, sometimes springing straight up into the air or up onto his person, though he isn't mouthy. A home that can help him learn some manners and give him outlets for all that energy would be ideal. Because he came in so fearful, he'll also need a family with knowledge of how to help a fearful dog settle into a new home. He may be nervous at first in new places, and he'll do best with patience and a slow, gentle approach while he decompresses. SugarFoot has already shown us how much love he has to give once he feels safe. If you're ready to give this sweet, goofy, affectionate boy a little time and patience, he's ready to be your loyal sidekick. Come meet SugarFoot! VIDEOS: Playgroup 10/5: Playgroup 10/4: Playgroup 10.3: Sugarfoot and Brynn: BEHAVIOR NOTES: Playgroup 10.5 Steer test 3/5 with water and 2/5 with can good gate greetings. Bouncing around the yard. Playbows and pauses. Tolerant. Playgroup 10/4: Steer Test: 3-4/5 with water and 0 with can. Good greetings then zooming around. Push pull play, taking good breaks. 10/1/2026 Per Staff Easy to leash, came right to the front. Pulled Mildly Yes, I handled the dog. So happy to be hanging out, just wants to be right by your side! Hes jumpy but not mouthy. Walked right into kennel and unleashed without issue Sugarfoot is the total package. So handsome and suave, struts and flips out his paws when he walks. Plus hes sooo sweet and engaged. Big time leaner. Per staff 10/1: Adding the fearful waiver out of an abundance of caution. Sugarfoot came in pretty fearful however he as really opened up in his time here. He has puppy like energy, can be jumpy like jumping straight into he air or up on the person. He will need a home that has knowledge of acclimating a fearful dog into the home. Per staff 9/30: Kennel Presentation: Sitting on the bed with soft eyes, ears to the side and tail down not moving. Leash Skills: As I presented the leash sugarfoots tail began to wag. Easy to leash and came right out of the kennel. Mildly pulls on leash. Sociability: Leaned into all handling. Can be jumpy, jumped up on me and sprung off. Loose body, soft eyes and ears to the side. Takes trests gently. Did tug on my PPE however let go easily Play: n/a Dog Interaction: Met Mr Man, good greetings, play bows and disenaged on his own. Return to Kennel: Went right into kennel and removed leash with hand. Color Level: Blue Per staff 9/19: When I came into the office this morning Sugarfoot was in the back of the crate. I opened the crate door and he came right out. wide/soft eyes, ears to the side and low tail wags coming right up to me allowed pets. Able to leash and went out for a walk. on the walk he was hyper vigilant, eyes darting, tail down and ears to the side. Came back into the office, hes been pacing around and whining while jumping up on me allowing pets. Per staff 9/18 (Regarding meet with Brynn): Tolerant. Able to sniff and be sniffed. Mingled around the yard staying close to Brynn Per staff 9/18: On the backside of the kennel due to the front side being cleaned. I dropped a treat in and he ate it. When I opened the door sugarfoot slowly started moving away. I was able to leash with a treat lure. However he began to trembling, eyes darting and army crawling away from me. I was able to slowly remove my leash and close the door. Per staff 9/16: there was intention to introduce this dog to another dog today; however due to a routine medical procedure like being taken in for spay/neuter surgery or being PCR pending, this was unable to be completed. Per staff 9/15: For check in, not eating anything I or the nurses offered. Heavy panting with wide red eyes, tense body, tucked tail. Sniffed at some canned chicken then licked his lips and turned away. Tolerated some gentle handling, opted to double leash out of precaution. Whale and side eye'd with a closed mouth and tense body during vaccines and microchip, and was leaning heavily into my leg. Remained leaning to my leg when we were done. Per staff 9/15: Kennel Presentation: Laying at the back of his kennel with whale eyes darting, tense body trembling, ears pinned back, low growling. Had multiple different uneaten treats in his crate and did not eat the hot dogs or spray cheese that I offered. Leash Skills: Would not come forward, needed to lasso and leash pressure to remove from his crate. Once out had a tightly tucked tail, tense body trembling, ears pinned back, whale eyes. Walked slowly stopping frequently, would keep moving with baby talk and occasionally needed light leash pressure. Sociability: Not eating any treats, offered a variety at different times while with him, would sniff some of them. While walking outside, skin would crawl and lip licked when attempting light handling. Went back inside and needed to wait to have a kennel cleaned, was heavy panting, wide eyes, ears back, tense body, laid down after a minuet or two. Attempted some handling again and he did not lip lick or skin crawl, had whale eyes, ears back, tense body. Play: n/a Dog Interaction: n/a Return to Kennel: Walked back with a slightly looser body and a low looser tail, able to clip my leash with no issue. Stopped outside his kennel and pulled back on the leash. Would not go in for treats and needed leash pressure to return. Color Level: Exp Blue Recommendations and considerations: Per staff 9/13: In his crate this morning, wide eyes darting, tense body, started to tremble when I crouched down and talked to him. Tossed in a hot dog piece which he did not eat. Came back after my walkthrough and the hot dogs were untouched. Per ACA 9/12: Mild hesitation leashing. Growling Needed verbal encouragement or treats to keep walking, Walked with a hunched body/seemed fearful, Flailing around. Would put on brakes every now and then. No, I did not handle the dog. Did not want to return to kennel ( Had to use moderate/strong leash pressure or a magic carpet ride) Tail between legs. Maggie said he did a slight lip raise at her. Didn't take treats. Seemed to be exit searching while in kennel. When I had him out he responded decently well to happy excited talk to get him moving. 9/12/2026 Per Staff Mild hesitation. Growling. Needed verbal encouragement or treats to keep walking, Walked with a hunched body/seemed fearful, Flailing around. Would out on brakes every now and then. No, I did not handle the dog. Did not want to return to kennel ( Had to use moderate/strong leash pressure or a magic carpet ride) Tail between legs. Maggie said he did a slight lip raise at her. Didn't take treats. Seemed to be exit searching while in kennel. When had him out he responded decently well to happy excited talk to get him moving. Per owner surrender notes 9/12: The owner originally received him from a family member. Sugarfoot is mostly housetrained and has a lot of energy. They owned him for a little over a year. The owner also mentioned that her son said Sugarfoot had lunged at the neighbor but did not bite and has no ongoing behavioral issues. They noted that he is energetic and struggles to calm down and that the best thing about him is his eyes. Unfortunately, the owners were no longer able to care for Sugarfoot so they decided to surrender him to ACCT Philly. -- Due to being significantly overcapacity with animals and higher than usual intake, extensions are unlikely to be granted. If you are interested in an animal please contact ACCT Philly immediately. Due to limited space, timestamps may also be proceeded with early so it is imperative to let us know if you are considering adopting or tagging an animal. ACCT Philly is located at 111 West Hunting Park Ave in Philadelphia. We are open for adoptions 7 days a week. Please visit www.acctphilly.org/adopt for details. If you are a rescue interested in pulling this animal, please email our lifesaving team, or visit here if you are not currently a rescue partner: Confirmed placement is considered a confirmation of an actual rescue pull. Possible placement, interested parties, and other 'TBD' statuses are not considered confirmed and do not indicate an animal is no longer urgent. All animals at ACCT Philly are from Philadelphia, as the only open-intake animal shelter in Philadelphia, we are not able to accept animals from outside of Philadelphia. ACCT Philly's Pennsylvania kennel license number is 08313. Animal ID: ACCT-A-258251 Breed: Terrier, Pit Bull Color: Tan / White Weight: 53.2 lbs Age: Adult (1-7 years) Location: Large Dog Kennel, D7 Campus: Main Campus Attributes: Good Dog Meet (In Shelter), Blue, Adult-Only Home Preferred, Waiver: Fearful, Foster Eligible