A dog who, months ago wouldn’t even walk past the couch of his foster home, is taking brave strides right into a new life.
Mortimer “Morty” Octavius was rescued from an illegal breeding and hoarding operation in Bloomington in March of 2023. He and the 67 other dogs rescued alongside him were in various stages of undersocialization, neglect and behavioral needs.
“He was so shut down when he came in. You would sit next to him and he would tremble. He couldn’t even look at you,” said Bloomington Animal Care and Control Outreach and Behavior Coordinator Emily Herr, who was a part of the initial rescue.
Once Morty arrived at the shelter, he had a team of four or five people, including Herr, who would visit him almost everyday. They spent about 20 minutes each with him, working to positively socialize him with the human presence and get a sense of his personal boundaries.
Mortimer in his kennel at BACC, shortly after he was rescued. Photo submitted by Emily Herr.
After being in and out of different foster homes Morty was placed with his current foster mom, Casey Green, in December of 2023 and has been there ever since. Green fostered two Carolina dogs from the same hoarding case before Morty. One of them, Eleven, was adopted in November of last year.
“He is like having a cat who’s a dog and a lot of that is people like to crowd dogs and they just intuitively know that cats need space,” said Green.
Morty’s been with Green for nearly a year and the progress he has made, while it may seem small, is huge for a dog with his background. Normally, achievements come in the form of learning to sit, stay or twirl on demand. For Morty, his achievements are the moments when he makes eye contact without retreating or takes a treat directly from someone’s hand.
“Progress for Morty is subtle, you know? It’s just noticing when he doesn’t run away or that he has curiosity in his eyes. Those are big progress moments for him,” said Green.
Mortimer’s foster parent, Casey Green, discusses the ups and downs of his journey since December.
Over the past several months, Casey has celebrated many of Morty’s milestones on Instagram. He stepped outside on his own for the first time in May. He laid on the couch with Green for the first time in August. He cuddled with her for the first time just this month. While he continues to make progress, Green and Herr warn that Morty will have to restart once he is adopted.
“Socialization will restart. It will be a hard reset for him, but what we have seen is that he has the ability to want to be near his chosen person,” Herr said.
Potential adopters should prepare for a rough transition. Morty will experience a series of setbacks that at times may seem hopeless, but with enough time and patience Morty has proven he can overcome anything.
“People want a dog that they can interact with more and wants to cuddle and upfront Morty doesn’t seem like he’s ever gonna be that dog, but we’ve seen over the past three months that he is definitely that dog,” said Green.
Since December, Green has found herself wondering where Morty’s future will take him. Between each setback and every milestone, it has been made clear that Morty’s innate Carolina curiosity will get the best of him every time.
Casey Green discusses what Mortimer needs from potential adopters and what they can expect from him.
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