From Deborah Weinberg

April 27, 2012

Betsy came from a high kill shelter in Illinois. It was reported that she was terrified of men, and was very shy. We didn’t know until the night before transport that Betsy was pregnant. We met the transport and were soon on our way home with a very dirty, smelly, and terrified Golden Retriever. For the first day, she would flatten herself to the ground and I had to carry her everywhere. She was terrified of everything, and spent the day chilling out in her kennel. Though she is still hesitant in some situations, she has gotten a lot more comfortable over the last week. Betsy loves to roll in the grass and feel the sun on her. She also loves curling up on the couch to take a much needed nap.

Betsy made a trip to the vet and did very well. She went over to a strange man in the waiting room at the vet’s office, and even rolled over for a belly rub from the male vet! Betsy was given a thorough exam. Dr. Mark estimates her age at 5-6 instead of the 2-3 that the shelter had originally reported. He guesses she is between 5-6 weeks pregnant. He could feel the babies, and they are about ping pong ball sized right now. He thinks that Betsy has had puppies in the past. Betsy’s heart/lungs sound great, she’s at a pretty good weight, and her heartworm test was negative. She did have tapeworms, so has been given a dewormer to get rid of them. She also has an ear infection and a small puncture wound on her right ear (possibly from a dog bite, as she was kenneled with several other dogs at the shelter.) All things that are easily treated! She was given a rabies vaccine at the shelter, but won’t be able to get any more vaccines until after she has had the puppies.

Sweet Betsy is a purebred Golden Retriever and weighs 58 pounds. She has not had any accidents in the house, so I would say she is house broken. She doesn’t, however, give us any signs that she needs to go out. For the first few days, we used a crate, but now she is baby gated in my bedroom during the day while I am at work. She’s been left with free roam in the house for 2 hours and I don’t think she moved from the couch. She is great with other dogs, completely ignores my 2 cats, and loves my 7 year old daughter. She doesn’t have any training, but we are focusing on making her feel comfortable and safe before we worry about obedience training. Betsy is very scared and skittish, and will cower and run if something startles her. Betsy will not be available for adoption until her puppies are weaned and she has been spayed.

Betsy will be moving this weekend to her permanent foster home. Though we have quickly fallen in love with her and would love to have puppies in the house, I am not home enough to meet the demands of a litter of puppies. We are thrilled that her new foster home is only a few hours away, so we will get to visit Betsy and her puppies!