Karina 08-495

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Karina landed here in Minnesota after a long ride from South Dakota. She is a 3 year old unspayed (we'll work on that) girl who is not quite sure what to make of life here. She's met the resident lab and our other foster Cowgirl 08-401. Cowgirl is doing her best to mother Karina and make her feel comfortable. Karina was checked out by the vet and is in pretty good health. She has pretty nasty ear infections in both ears and some ugly looking lacerations on two of her legs. We're working on treating all of those and she should be up and running in no time.

Even though she has only been here for a few hours, we've learned the following:

  • She will need a fenced in yard
  • She loves her people and follows them everywhere
  • Not so sure about a leash yet, but we're working on that
  • It would be beneficial to have another dog in the home so she can take cues from them

Karina is pretty nervous right now, so we'll update as soon we get to this darling a little better.

Send a note placementatragom [dot] org if you would like to meet a darling young girl who could use a GReat second chapter to her life.
 

At a Glance #08-495

Golden Retriever Born: October 2006
Female Weight not specified

Status: Deceased

Profile

Karina landed here in Minnesota after a long ride from South Dakota. She is a 3 year old unspayed (we'll work on that) girl who is not quite sure what to make of life here. She's met the resident lab and our other foster Cowgirl 08-401. Cowgirl is doing her best to mother Karina and make her feel comfortable. Karina was checked out by the vet and is in pretty good health. She has pretty nasty ear infections in both ears and some ugly looking lacerations on two of her legs. We're working on treating all of those and she should be up and running in no time.

Even though she has only been here for a few hours, we've learned the following:

  • She will need a fenced in yard
  • She loves her people and follows them everywhere
  • Not so sure about a leash yet, but we're working on that
  • It would be beneficial to have another dog in the home so she can take cues from them

Karina is pretty nervous right now, so we'll update as soon we get to this darling a little better.

Send a note placementatragom [dot] org if you would like to meet a darling young girl who could use a GReat second chapter to her life.
 

Updates

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Update from Karina's forever family to her Foster Mom...

Hi Jill,

Wanted to get a recent photo of Karina to you and an update too. Guess we didn't need to be too concerned with how Karina might react to being around cats!


Karina is doing very well. She has so stolen our hearts. She's the one who will nuzzle on my hand in the morning to awaken me and first to run to me to greet me after I've been gone for awhile. She is a tender little thing but with a huge personality that we see come to the surface more and more. She's become a tail wagger although we see the fearful side too. Almost anything in our hands, like a towel or shirt cause her to shy away. She allows us to brush her and dry her off but her tail stays tucked away. I always work on Tucker first so Karina will see it doesn't hurt. Both rescue GRs need almost constant ear attention. Karina tolerates it but she doesn't like it. I don't blame her - after all, who wants someone putting liquid and cotton balls in their ear?!?!

Karina is now a member of the "eating fruits and vegetables club"! I have always fed those things to Tucker from my palm and now do that with Karina, as well. She eats half an apple at noon (sliced into manageable pieces) and half a banana every morning from my palm at the same time Tucker is eating his. She is getting more into carrots but they are a little tougher for her to gnaw into. It's so fun being on the floor with them and then alternating feeding each one a bite. They share the fruits and veggies well - better than they do the toys!

We continue to look at the RAGOM site but I have to admit, it tears my heart up to see so many wonderful dogs in need of a forever home. The good news is they have reached that stage in their lives.

That's it for today. Take care. You do good work, Jill.

Monday, December 8, 2008

It is with sadness and joy that our foster girl, Karina 08-495, was adopted today, 12/7/08, by a wonderful family. Mel and Lynn M had adopted Tucker (Comet) from RAGOM about a year ago and now have opened their hearts and home to little Karina. We will sure miss her morning wake up kisses, greeting us at the door and our resident dog Molly will really miss her playtime buddy. She is still a shy girl, but has come a long way since we first got her as a puppy mill dog. The M's GR, Tucker, will be a great companion and role model for Karina and I know she will be well cared for and loved. Ahhhhhh it feels so good when you find a great forever home for these kids. Karina has found her forever home and it warms my heart. Best wishes for a wonderful dog's life, Karina,that you so deserve.

Love from your foster mom & dad, Jill and Keith

 

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Karina is recovering from her surgery of being spayed. She dislikes the cone collar immensely and gives me the “mad” look while she’s wearing it. I’m trying to teach her to sit for her meals and treats. She will lie down or run to her bed or back away from me. She doesn’t quite get it yet. We’ll just keep practicing. I’m hoping she will pick it up from our 2 resident dogs.

She is not motivated by treats. About the only one she will take is a chicken strip. She walks away from peanut butter, liver snaps, cottage cheese, regular cheese and even canned dog food believe it or not. She does eat well and loves her dry dog food, so that’s good because she needs a few extra pounds on her skinny little body.

Karina comes to us often for pets and scratches behind her ears. She loves attention and to be around others. She’s sitting under my computer desk at my feet at this moment. She will go get her red leash off the hook by the door and bring it upstairs waiting for a walk. It’s so cute. Likes to fetch my socks, underwear, gloves, shoes, you name it, and they end up in the living room.

She’s one of the easiest dogs we have fostered and has a gentle and loving way about her. She needs a good forever home with another dog to play with and learn from. She is one fabulous dog, who needs some confidence in herself and lots of love from us humans. She has made so much progress already. She has certainly found her way into our hearts.

Her foster parents,

Jill and Keith

 

Monday, November 10, 2008

Karina came to our home about 3 weeks ago. When she first arrived she was so afraid of people, she would not come through the door. We tried to entice her with chicken strips, dog bones and even some real meat, but no go! She wouldn’t let us approach her. So I propped open the door and had to go to the other room and she then followed my resident dogs in. After about 3 days of this, she started coming up to the door, but I couldn’t be in the doorway. Now, she gingerly comes in and out of the door by herself. She has learned to trust that we love her and won’t cause her any harm.

She came from South Dakota and had no socialization with people. She lived outdoors her whole life of 2 years. She is now housebroken without any accidents for over a week now. She eats well and goes on daily walks with my husband and our other 2 dogs. She had never been on a leash, so that was new to her and she walked back and forth and all over the place on their walks, but is now getting the hang of it.

She gets along great with all other dogs. I took her to the off leash park (but kept her on leash) and she greeted all the dogs with sniffs and playfulness. Sometimes she will lay down on her back, being very submissive, with her belly up to new dogs. She allowed other people at the park to pet her. I think because all of the other dogs were being petted as well so she didn’t feel as threatened. She will definitely need a family with another dog to give her confidence and to role model after.

Here are a few pictures of her. She’s a very gentle, kind, non-aggressive girl who “soaks up” affection from us. She has a beautiful golden coat and is smaller in size. She is looking for her forever home and a chance to have a wonderful dog’s life. She will be getting spayed this Wed. Nov. 12. She’s a beauty and will make a wonderful companion.

Her foster parents, Jill and Keith

 

   

 

Friday, October 24, 2008

 

Karina has really blossomed here in the last four days. We've hit a couple really big milestones.

1. We've gone 3 days without an accident. Yeah! For awhile there it was feeling like that would never happen. Once we've made it a week I think we can successfully say she is potty trained

2. She no longer cries when my husband moves his arms around.

3. We've conquered the fear of the refrigerator and the dishwasher.

She finally has a routine down and is settling in. The alarm goes off at 5:30a and Karina's little feet pop up on the side of the bed and the bath begins. Then it's time to head outside for a potty break and she gets the zoomies! I wish I had it on video, it's hilarious. She zooms around the yard so fast and hops over Cowgirl 08-401 and under the resident lab. I think she has finally figured out that there will always be enough to eat in this house because she is slowing down on her food and not finishing it any more. Although sometimes she tries to convince Cowgirl to switch dishes with her because Cowgirl has gravy in hers.

Miss Karina is becoming a full fledged ham. She loves to dance with me to the radio and continues to hide shoes (only the left one) around the house. You never know where they will end up. She was so proud of herself yesterday when she showed me how she can get on the bed! She had the floppiest grin on her face! It was cute.

While Karina has made big strides, it is important to know that she is not a dog that one can plunk into their family and expect her to adjust right away. It will take awhile for her to readjust and there may be a few setbacks at first. She will need patience and extra love to convince her that she is safe. She is a wonderful dog and a pint-sized firecracker. I have no doubt that when she adjusts she will be one sassy peanut. But after 2 years and a couple of litters, I say she deserves the chance to have a little attitude.

Karina is a gorgeous dog and anyone would be lucky to have the privilege of living with this beauty. Life would certainly never be dull.

Email placementatragom [dot] org if would like to meet this special lady. I have a feeling she won't be around long.