Florence has come a long way since our last update. With shy, scared dogs, progress comes in small increments, but each is a “big deal” to her RAGOM Foster Mom and Dad. It’s now become standard practice that she and her brothers spend their nap times on one of the dog beds in our living room.

Florence still has her kennel to go to if she feels scared or stressed but, most often, she can be found snoozing with her brothers. None of the dogs is possessive of any one bed, but rather they seem to be happy to move from one to another.

Another sign of Flo’s growing self-confidence is that she is becoming more and more a part of our three-dog pack. She will join her brothers to investigate sounds and smells and, most importantly, will join them to soak up attention from us!

The other positive that we see is in her posture while she sleeps. Now we see her stretched out and totally relaxed when she is napping. Several times we’ve had to wake her up because we were going out for a walk. It is so heartwarming to see these changes.

Slowly, but surely, good things are happening for Flo. She is eating all her food at every meal (we’re trying to put an additional 4 lbs. on her slim frame). She has never had an accident in the house. She is walking better every day with just her regular collar. In short, she is a joy to foster and we love seeing her grow in confidence.

Ms. Florence has changed foster homes since we last updated her website. We are thrilled to have her with us. Many years ago, we were fortunate to be able to foster her momma – Dakota 13-138.

Flo reminds us so much of her. She is scared of many things but she is slowly, slowly getting braver. Her curiosity about the world is going to eventually trump her fears. We just need to give her time to adjust.

We’ve done a lot of walking since Flo joined our family. She has done a good job. She still pulls a little but this is getting better as she walks more.

We’ve changed her requirements from “physical fence required” to “physical fence optional”. While a fenced yard would be a bonus, she will do fine with a family committed to frequent walks and supervised tie-outs.

We’re still learning about this sweet girl, as she has been with us less than two weeks. Flo will be visiting our Vet this week to get weighed and to check on her ears for infections. Foster brother Tank is going to ride along to give her moral support.

She is also going to doggy daycare with her other foster brother – Sooner – on Tuesday. We’ll let you know how she does with both adventures.

We’re already figuring out that Flo is very observant and smart as a whip. She has watched her foster brothers “sit” at the front door while we are hooking them up to their leashes prior to our walks. She has now worked up her courage to scurry to the front door and, when she sees us get her leash, she now “sits” too!

One last thing. We’ve experimented a bit using her name. Her previous foster mom was using the name Katy in place of Florence. We’ve settled on calling her “Flo” for short. She seems to respond best to that name of any of the three options.

Flo has begun what will be a long journey to learn what the Golden Life is all about. Her forever family will be one who is prepared to walk with her, at her pace, down that path. We need to learn a lot more about her and we will try to update this site often to let you know what we’re finding out.

Since our last update, Florence/Katy has now been spayed. She did well and has recovered just fine. It's always so good to have “this procedure” behind us. No more breeding babies.

She is making progress getting used to this “new life.” She has adapted very well to all the new noises in and outside. She is now going in and out potty just fine, even exploring the yard and seeing what new smells there are and following the other two resident dogs around.

She has a pretty good appetite and is currently fed in her crate, door open, very close to Bridger and Eddie, our resident dogs. She's never had any accidents whatsoever.

Florence/Katy really loves cheese (we used the cubed type). A great reward for her. She remains very nervous riding in the car…..all in good time.

A happy note is that she is venturing out of her crate, seeing what is going on and coming a little more out of her shell. We are being very patient so she can build up a little more self-esteem day by day. The baby steps with these goldens is so rewarding to experience and watch.

Katy is such a “little-one” and so darn cute! We will be trying to put a more weight on her. Perhaps around 10# or so.

We are having one more trip to the groomer next week to get even more smell and coat off her. She is sure going to make some lucky family very happy with her beautiful eyes/face and a wonderful personality which is evolving each day!