Patti 07-548

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09/13/2007 - Patti is a rescued Golden from a puppy mill in Arkansas. We were told that the conditions there were “deplorable”. She has five pups that she is nursing and is a very good mom. Once cleaned up she is a very good-looking Golden – nice size and shape. She is learning to walk on a leash and is doing well. She hasn’t quite mastered stairs or doors but she is well on the way to being comfortable with those, too. All she’s been, all her life (she’s about five years old), is a breeding machine. I’m sure she was expected to “just pop out puppies and don’t cause any trouble”.

 

 

Patti is just over 50 pounds and in spite of her treatment she seems to be in generally good health. Her first vet check will be on Saturday. She’s not totally housebroken but if we take her out regularly we have no problems. She’s still a little nervous but that is to be expected. Actually, based on what we know about her life up until now (which isn’t much) we think that she is doing extremely well. One evening she was nursing her puppies when she suddenly jumped up, ran around the corner, put her face into the container of dog toys, grabbed one and hurried back to her litter. She had no real idea what to do with the toy she’d just “scored” but she guarded it so that her pups wouldn’t take it away and rested peacefully with it between her paws. Pretty entertaining.

 

 

We have no idea how many litters of puppies she’s had but this will be her last. She’s a good mom but is

beginning to run out of milk for the little ones. We’ve started giving them supplemental food and they’ve taken to it well.

At a Glance #07-548

Golden Retriever Born: July 2004
Female Weight not specified

Status: Adopted

Profile

09/13/2007 - Patti is a rescued Golden from a puppy mill in Arkansas. We were told that the conditions there were “deplorable”. She has five pups that she is nursing and is a very good mom. Once cleaned up she is a very good-looking Golden – nice size and shape. She is learning to walk on a leash and is doing well. She hasn’t quite mastered stairs or doors but she is well on the way to being comfortable with those, too. All she’s been, all her life (she’s about five years old), is a breeding machine. I’m sure she was expected to “just pop out puppies and don’t cause any trouble”.

 

 

Patti is just over 50 pounds and in spite of her treatment she seems to be in generally good health. Her first vet check will be on Saturday. She’s not totally housebroken but if we take her out regularly we have no problems. She’s still a little nervous but that is to be expected. Actually, based on what we know about her life up until now (which isn’t much) we think that she is doing extremely well. One evening she was nursing her puppies when she suddenly jumped up, ran around the corner, put her face into the container of dog toys, grabbed one and hurried back to her litter. She had no real idea what to do with the toy she’d just “scored” but she guarded it so that her pups wouldn’t take it away and rested peacefully with it between her paws. Pretty entertaining.

 

 

We have no idea how many litters of puppies she’s had but this will be her last. She’s a good mom but is

beginning to run out of milk for the little ones. We’ve started giving them supplemental food and they’ve taken to it well.

Updates

Tuesday, October 23, 2007

It has been quite a while but Patti has finally found a favorite toy. Being a puppy mill dog she didn’t know about toys and playing. But, with the help of the resident dog, she’ll now play with a toy, she’ll do a little bit of fetch and she will, at long last, actually play with our dog. Now that it’s cooler she will also lie down in the sunbeam with the resident dog for a little afternoon nap. Patti bid her puppies goodbye two weekends ago as they went off to their permanent homes. She will occasionally check the puppy area to see if anyone needs her attention but for the most part seems to have settled into a non-puppy mode quite well. She will go in to the vet to be spayed today so she’ll be ready for adoption very soon. She’s mellow, she’s sweet, she’s good lookin’ – get started on that adoption process!

Patti's last litter of puppies....ever!

Friday, October 5, 2007

Patti is becoming more accustomed to life in a home instead of in a cage in a puppy mill. She has started to play with toys (which were a foreign concept to her when she first arrived). She’s also begun to play with the resident dog. Not quite often enough for the likes of the resident dog, but at least it’s a start. Her feathers are slowly growing back and she’s putting on a little, much needed, weight. She’s almost completely done nursing the pups but continues to check on the little ones often. She knows her name and comes when called … most of the time. If she were asked, she’d love to have a forever home with a fenced yard where she could be on squirrel watch for hours. Patti will be saying good-by to her puppies the weekend of October 12-13 as they all go off to their new homes. Three weeks later she’ll be ready to be spayed and then … off (hopefully) to her new forever home. So if you are looking for a sweet dog to call your own let placement know.

 

Wednesday, September 26, 2007

Patti’s urinary tract infection has completely cleared. We’ve been feeding her four cups of food daily but she isn’t filling out as nicely as we’d hoped so we’ll have to increase her food a little. She’s almost completely done nursing her little ones. She also has been opening up a little more every day and that’s just heart-warming to see. We’ve told her that we really like it when she lays at our feet in the evening when we sit down; she doesn’t do it every night but she has blessed us with her presence two nights out of four.

Tuesday, September 18, 2007

With every passing day Patti holds her head higher and the tail spends more time wagging. She’s settling in nicely and that’s just heart-warming to see. She’s walking fairly well on leash for our twice a day walks. She is eating well and filling out a bit. Her coat is good but she’s missing all the feathers that she should have due to severe matting and dirt from the puppy-mill experience. As soon as the feathers come back she will be one beautiful dog. She’s got the head and the shape - all it will take is a little time.

 

Patti continues to impress us as a mother. Mothers are special, as we all know, but Patti really takes good care of her pups. She’s glad that we’ve begun supplemental feeding because she’s producing less milk for the little ones. They also have very sharp teeth.

 

We went to the dog park today with two of Patti’s friends (another Golden and the resident Irish Terrier) and everybody had a good time. All the dogs got to take a little nap after they got home but we poor two-legged types didn’t get the opportunity. Maybe they’ll let us sleep in come morning. Ya, right.