Chopper

Chopper is an adoptable male Bullmastiff looking for a home at Maricopa County Animal Care & Control - West in Phoenix, Arizona. He is a young adult and medium in size. He is currently on the shelter's euthanasia list with only 5 days left, listed due to behavior. Adopting Chopper, or even sharing his story, could save a life before it's too late.

Memo 10/30/2026 10/30/26 14:29 Canine has shown inconsistent responses to handlers, including episodes of behavior escalation. Placement with a New Hope Partner is needed by close of business 11/4/26 to prevent further progression and support ongoing evaluation. May be at risk for euthanasia 11/5/26 or sooner if warranted. Intake 10/11/2026 How long have you had the animal? FOUND 10/9/26 ; FINDER WAS AT THE PARK AND OBSERVED THIS DOG AT LARGE, SHE SHARES SHE THERE WERE BOWLS OF FOOD AND WATER AROUND THE DOG, SHE SHARES THAT THE DOG ALLOWED ALL PETTING AND HANDLING RIGHT AWAY AND WAS VERY FRIENDLY WITH THEM ; What are the cross streets where you found the animal? Is this animal currently showing any signs of illness, taking any medication, or has the animal been diagnosed with a medical or behavioral condition? NOTHING NOTED Is animal spayed/neutered? Has the animal bitten anyone? If yes, please explain? NO Any near bites (contact but did not break skin)? If yes, please explain? NO Has the animal shown any signs of aggression toward people or animals? FINDER SHARES THAT THE DOG EXHIBITS FOOD AGGRESSION IF SHE TRIES TO TOUCH OR MOVE THE FOOD AFTER HE BEGINS EATING Has the animal ever seriously injured or caused the death of another animal? Was this animal around any children? NO DIRECT CONTACT WITH CHILDREN OBSERVED BY FINDER , BUT CHILDREN WERE OBSERVED TO BE AT THE PARK WHERE THE DOGS WAS FOUND Did the animal interact with other animals? NO DIRECT CONTACT WITH ANIMALS Cats? Dogs? Livestock (horses, cows, goats, chickens, etc.)? Other Animals (birds, small mammals, reptiles, etc.)? Resource Guarding: Describe any known guarding of food, toys, people, or space? OBSERVED LOW GROWL WHEN THE FINDER ATTEMPTED TO MOVE HIS FOOD BOWL WHILE EATING Can the animal walk on a leash? FAMILIAR ON LEASH, SOME PULLING, SOME BITING OF THE LEASH ; FINDER WAS ABLE TO LIFT THE DOG INTO VEHICLE Does the animal know any commands? BASIC COMMANDS Where was this animal kept? INSIDE AND OUTSIDE If inside, did you keep the animal in a crate or allowed to roam free? FREE ROAMING ; COUCH POTATO If outside, what kind of fencing do you have, and did it contain the animal? BLOCK WALL Any destruction behavior? If yes, please describe? NOTHING NOTED How would you describe the animal’s energy level? HIGH ENERGY, PLAYFUL AND SITS AND LSITENS TO COMMANDS ; Any escapist behavior? NO Any Door Dashes/Runs away, if so, describe? NO, WANTED TO BE INSIDE Any Additional details/notes on behavior? Evaluation Comments (Observations from our staff and volunteers) 10/28/2026 Dog was closed to back half of kennel on approach during AM cleaning. Would start to alarm bark & growl while having dilated pupils, lips curled, flagged tail & hackles raised. Offered treats, would start to bite @ kennel gate while pulling gate back. Handler walked to front half of kennel & opened divider, dog would not come forward with treats or verbal coaxing. Approached back half again, tossed a handful of treats into middle of kennel, dog would turn to eat treats, quickly inserted hand with a large loop leash into kennel. Dog would slowly turn back around while having a slight tail wag while still being flagged, pinned ears back & head lowered, able to cast a large loop leash onto dog. Once leash was secured, dog would do a shake off of body & walk out of kennel with verbal coaxing. Slowly walked to PY while stopping to sniff & urinate along the way. Once in PY, dog would do a shake off of body then start to explore with nose to ground, still having ears pinned back & flagged tail, did relax hackles after shake off. Dog would slowly approach handler, do another shake off of body then sat in front of handler. Offered treats, was not interested in treats. Extended hand to pet on head, dog would lower & shift head to the side, handler removed hands & dog would return to exploring. Dog would stand still bodied with flagged tail while doing a hard stare @ handler, handler would scatter a handful of treats onto ground, dog would break focus & start to eat treats again. Handler called dog over once dog would relax tail & body. Dog would come to handler, sat next to handlers feet & would lean into handlers hands while being pet near neck. Picked up leash & walked back to kennel. Would pass by another handler, dog would do a low growl, handler was able to keep dog walking. Entered into kennel & allowed slow leash removal by hand. 10/27/2026 10/27/26 08:29 Lunging, growling, baring teeth and attempting to bite me when I approached his kennel. Placing orange card. 10/26/2026 Low growling and lunging at handler as passing kennel 10/25/2026 Dog did not eat dry kibble offered previous day. Will be adding 2 TBS of canned food during PM feeding. 10/22/2026 Dog did not eat food from previous dy will be addin in 2TBS canned food to entyce eating at 2nd feed today. 10/22/2026 Social / Approaches easily, Easy / Cooperative, Took to play yard, Easy / Loose leash, Low energy, Social / Affiliative, Affectionate towards handler, Easy return, Took treats gently, Walked well to yard. Allowed pets, affiliative, dropped treats after taking. Walked loose leash on path nest to side. Ignored dogs in kennels. 10/15/2026 Closed in for AM cleaning. At front of kennel; tail wagging; soft; allowed for easy leashing; exited; moderate pull; hackles raised walking past kennels. In yard, dog relaxed; explored briefly; jumped up on handler; easy to redirect off; continued to explore; urinated; defecated; approached handler; allowed for petting; jumpy at times; easily able to redirect off; handler sat in chair; dog approached; allowed for more petting; took treats gently; occasionally checked in with handler; followed handler in yard. Picked leash up; exited; moderate pull; entered kennel; allowed for leash removal. *** Dog should be fed separate due to notes of resource guarding. **** Older children 12+ due to notes of resource guarding. 10/14/2026 Dog was closed to back half of kennel during AM cleaning. Offered treats, would approach kennel gate while keeping head lowered & whale eyed, gently took treats. Opened kennel gate, dog would allow leash placement. Walked with a hard pull on leash while keeping tail tucked under body & hackles raised. Once in small PY, dog would turn to handler while tilting head side to side & slowly relaxing tail to a neutral position. Offered treats, gently took treats. Adjusted leash stopper & dropped leash. Dog would start to explore while sniffing nose to ground, tail neutral & hackles were relaxed. Allowed handler to approach & pet on side of body while doing slight skin crawling. Would continue to explore as handler sat on bench. Dog would approach handler & place front paws onto bench while looking towards handler with a soft gaze. Handler would pet on head without issues, offered more treats, dog would take treats then return to all 4's on the floor. Dog would play bow in front of handler then jump up while leaning onto handler, allowing more petting with no skin crawling, able to direct off without issues. Appears to know \"SIT\" for treats while taking treats gently. Picked up leash without issues. Walked back to kennel with a moderate pull on leash while having hackles raised again. Entered into kennel on own & allowed leash removal to be done by hand without issues. 10/14/2026 Reported that dog ate 1/4 of dry kibble from yesterdays AM feeding before adding wet food and wet food sign. Will continue to monitor food consumption. 10/13/2026 Requesting full eval due to finder and intake notes. 10/13/2026 Outside for AM cleaning laying at kennel door with stiff body, whale eye, low growling at handler, will lip curl when offering treat, no interest in treats dropped near. Remained laying down with stiff body, low growling louder as door was opened, able to drape large loop over dogs head with no issues. Exited kennel erratically with strong pull, side eyeing handler most of walk to yard, tail tucked, startled by reactive dogs in passing, when directing dog over to play yard dog jumped towards handler quickly (appeared non-aggressive, wide eyed, ears dropped back, may have been burst of high energy). Did not drop leash entirety of evaluation, dog would pull hard around yard sniffing quickly, pacing, flinches heavily when near reactive dogs outside of yard, dog had moments of quickly approaching handler with wide whale eye, ears dropped back, tail tucked, sniffing handler intensely then begins pacing around yard again, would tolerate petting on back but did not solicit attentions, constant side eyeing with body low to ground. Went potty, took interest in treats tossed near but did not accept from handlers hand. Has moments of slight soft body towards handler but becomes tense and wary of handler extending hand out to pet. Walked back to kennel with strong pull on leash, zig zag walking pattern when approaching kennel, side eyeing handler. Walked into kennel on own and used pre-attached clip leash for leash retrieval. 10/13/2026 Reported that dog only ate canned food during PM feeding offering. Will be placing \"wet food\" sign. 10/12/2026 Dog did not eat previous day. Will be adding 2 TBS of canned food during PM feeding. 10/11/2026 Upon approach alarm barking, growling, wide eyed, furrowed browns, stiff body, avoiding eye contact, softened while in triage, allowed all handling and restraint for vaccines. Walked on leash to kennel, allowed leash removal by hand. strong pull. Name: Chopper Animal ID: A5172966 Breed: BLACK/WHITE AM PIT BULL TER/MIX Sex: Neutered Age: 2Y 0M Weight: 55.8 lbs Kennel: West Kennel, Wing H - 252 Intake Date: 10/11/2026 Deadline Date: 11/4/2026