Meet adorable Ava and cute Chloe!  Born on Nov. 21, 2009, these seven week old little girls are as sweet as sugar.  Ava is Golden colored and Chloe is coal colored - and both are just gorgeous.  This past Sunday, they and five other female littermates arrived at RAGOM as a result of an accidental breeding.  Ava takes after her father, a Golden Retriever and Chloe looks like her mother, a black Lab.  

"The girls" have acquired a few nicknames from their foster family - Salt and Pepper, Vanilla and Cocoa, Night and Day.  Don't let their divergent coloring fool you though - BOTH are absolute sweethearts..  They adore affection and will take as much as you have to offer.  Neither of these lovely ladies seems to realize that they are going to be big girls one day though, as they are vying for positions as a lap dogs.   Since they arrived at their foster family on Sunday afternoon they have spent a lot of time running around outside - LOTS of short trips for potty training.  Thank goodness, it has warmed up a bit!  They are very similar to the Baby Alive doll that their five year old foster sister owns - give them water and food and almost immediately they need to potty.  So we have our running shoes on around here.  They have been here four days now and they are starting to get the hang of heading toward the door on their own when they need to go potty. The girls love to amuse themselves by playing "chase and roll" with each other.  Other recreational activities include: playing with their foster sister and one year old foster brother, following the resident Golden about the house and chewing on lots of different types of dog chews and toys. At night they snuggle up together in their crate.  They usually conk out around 11 pm after a long day of playing and napping.  They take a potty break around 2 am and one at 5 am, and then they are up for the day around 7 am. Any adoptive family will be so fortunate to adopt either of these gentle girls.  When considering these special girls, please consider that they will require a lot of frontloading - training while they are young really pays dividends when your puppy grows into an adult dog.  A well trained puppy will become a beloved family member who will reward you with a lifetime of love, loyalty and companionship. AVA'S VET NOTES:  Ava had her first ever visit to the vet on Wednesday.  She received her first vaccination and had an exam.  Her exam revealed that she does have a grade 1 heart murmur.  This is on a scale of 1 to 6, where a score of 1 is the least severe.  This type of heart murmur is considered be innocent/functional and often a type 1 or 2 heart murmur will resolve by 18 weeks.  Follow up exams will be needed to determine if the murmur has resolved or if additional testing will be necessary. Ava's fecal sample revealed that she has roundworms - which is very normal for puppies.  She was treated with a dose of Pyrantel and will receive a follow up dose in two weeks.  She should be in the clear very soon!   Ava is scheduled to be spayed and microchipped next Thursday.  She will spend the night at the vet and a couple of weeks recovering at home.

Ava will be available for adoption after she is spayed.  If you are interested in meeting this charming girl (be ready to fall in love), please contact your RAGOM placement advisor.