Penny

Penny is an adoptable female American Staffordshire Terrier looking for a home at Philadelphia Animal Care and Control in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She is fully grown and medium in size. She is currently on the shelter's euthanasia list and today is the last day, listed due to behavior. Adopting Penny, or even sharing her story, could save a life before it's too late.

​Penny ACCT-A-262690 is currently considered urgent and at risk of euthanasia due to behavioral concerns. Penny must have confirmed placement with a RESCUE PARTNER by Friday, October 9th 2026 at 10AM. Should Penny's medical or behavioral status change, her urgency and timeline for placement may also change. Meet Penny! This sweet girl is looking for a rescue partner who can give her the time, patience, and support she needs to continue building confidence. Penny can be a little shy and uncertain in the shelter, but once she gets comfortable, her sweet and affectionate personality shines through. Volunteers have described her as a lovely, well-mannered girl who enjoys pets, takes treats gently, knows sit, and walks nicely on leash. She has even been a star at a recent photoshoot, warming up to new people and happily accepting attention from several volunteers. Penny has also shown that she can enjoy the company of other dogs. She has participated in playgroups with good greetings, play bows, loose body language, and periods of appropriate play and mingling. Like many dogs, she can become overwhelmed or overexcited in certain interactions and has shown some overcorrections with other dogs, so thoughtful introductions and continued support will be important. While Penny has many wonderful qualities, she has also displayed some concerning reactions to certain people and situations in the shelter, including barking, growling, and charging toward a person on one occasion. Her previous family also reported that she can be unsure of strangers, particularly some men, and may react to people wearing hats or things on their heads. Because of these behavioral concerns, Penny is currently in need of a rescue partner who can provide a structured environment, experienced handling, and the opportunity to better understand and support her needs outside of the shelter setting. Penny is a dog with so much potential who deserves someone willing to see the sweet, playful girl underneath her uncertainty. She is smart, affectionate, and capable of forming wonderful connections with people who give her the time and space to feel safe. We are hoping to find the right rescue partner who can give Penny the chance to truly decompress and show us who she can be. Videos: Playgroup 10/4: Playgroup 10/2: Playgroup 10/1: Pemmy knows sit: Penny gets pets: Regina and Penny meet: Behavior Notes: Walksheet notes: 10/1 - medium/high energy, playgroup 10/1 - low/medium energy, so sweet, and gentle 10/2 - medium energy, playgroup 10/3 - low/medium energy, good dog meets, very well behaved, a little timid, but otherwise a very good girl 10/4 - medium energy, playgroup Per staff 10/5/26: On 10/2, while videoing playgroup, I paused recording to get a photo of Penny. As I approached her from the front with the phone raised, she woofed at me a couple times, retreating then bounding forward toward me. I continued walking along, not paying her direct attention, and she quickly went back to mingling and interacting with the other dogs. Playgroup 10/4/26: Steer Test: 3/5 with water and 1/5 with can. Good greetings, loose body, mingling around. Greeted Honey Bunches Of Oats who rolled over on her back, Penny stood next to her when Honey Bunches stood up Penny got vocal and vocalized while following her and a tenser body. Staff did a vocal que and Penny stopped and shook off. Mingled around and engaged in some play with Monii and Honey Bunches Of Oats. Did an over correction towards Uno who was being pushy with her play. Per volunteer 10/3/26: Penny (Pinwheel) greeted me at the front of her kennel. I had been told by another volunteer that she was a very nice girl. She was easy to leash and stepped directly out of her kennel. Walking through the kennels, she seemed a little nervous and briefly shrank back from some of the people we passed. We went into a smaller yard, before heading to the photo shoot. She relaxed there, showing me she knows sit, is gentle takes treats, and enjoys pets. She had a low key dog meet, was interested and cordial before we headed to the photo shoot. She was a little shy when she entered the costume-staging yard, but she quickly warmed to the other volunteers, going to them for pets, and even giving a kiss to one volunteer. Due to being timid, she only wore a simple bandana for the shoot. During the shoot, she was a little uncertain about what was expected, but within seconds, we moved her into position, she focused on the camera, and she became an Acct model! When a volunteer tried to take off the bandana, Penny was startled and jumped back, but allowed us to untie and remove it. As far as walking, she was not difficult, and she had no issues returning to her kennel. She was loved on by several volunteers, and the whole time was a very nice, well mannered girl. Per staff 10/3/26: Saw out with a volunteer. Sweet, loose, wiggly, knows sit. Playgroup 10/2/26: Steer test 1/5 with both water and can. Good greetings. Playbows. Disengaged on her own. Appropriate correction at first. A dog came up and they did some shuffling and penny over corrected Per staff 10/1/26: Kennel Presentation: At the front of the kennel with soft eyes, ears to the side and mid tail loosely wagging. Leash Skills: Easy to leash and came right out of the kennel. Mildly pulled on the leash. Immediately went to the bathroom as we go outside. Sociability: Leaned into all handling. Loose body with soft eyes and ears to the side. Did not do to much handling as I was bringing her to playgroup. Play: n/a Dog Interaction: in playgroup Return to Kennel: Went right into kennel and removed leash with hand. Color Level: Blue Per staff 10/1/26: At the front of her kennel with soft eyes, ears to the side, loose body and mid tail wagging. Takes treats nicely Per staff 9/29/26: Laying down in front of the door when I approached her kennel. Soft/wide eyes, ears to the side and a furrowed brow. She slowly got up coming out the front, took a treat gently and her tail was low wagging. Per staff 9/28/26: During my morning walk through she was drinking water at the front of her kennel. When she was done she looked up with wide eyes, ears back, low tail. I talked to her in a baby voice and she started to give me low tail wags, wide soft eyes. Offered a treat which she took gently and had a loose body. Per staff 9/27/26: When ACA came up dog started hard barking, growling and pulling towards her. Dog had to be walked by owner straight into a kennel. Owner said she has never seen Penny react that way only does that with some of her husbands male friends but never a female Per owner 9/27/26: Surrendered by owner of 3 years alongside another dog due to facing homelessness. They described Penny as an amazing dog, but noted that she can get iffy with other dogs, males, and does not like when people wear hats or things on their head. She lived with adults, children aged 1-14, and a cat, has accidents in the home, is crate trained, high energy, and has nipped before when she was a puppy. She knows sit, stay, and down, enjoys chicken food, likes ropes and balls, and is unsure with strangers, good with children, and iffy with cats and other dogs. Medical Notes: Penny is currently being treated for pneumovirus, which is a type of \"doggy cold.\" It is contagious to other dogs, but not to people or other types of animals. ' Due to being significantly overcapacity with dogs and cats 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 a dog or cat. 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 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-262690 Breed: Mixed Breed (Large) Color: White / Brindle Weight: 79.1 lbs Age: Adult (1-7 years) Location: Large Dog Kennel, F6 Campus: Main Campus Attributes: Lived with Dogs, Lived with Children, Good Dog Meet (In Shelter), Blue, Adult-Only Home Preferred