Puma had a bit of a scary weekend. He was playing with another dog on Friday and she got her lower canines caught in his collar. When I went to unhook them, poor Puma was being choked. I brought him to my vet where it was determined that he had non-cardiogenic pulmonary edema (fluid in the chest). He was given a couple injections to help eliminate the fluid and spent the night at the emergency clinic for continued observation and support.
 
He is doing quite well and is the best patient ever! He is supposed to be on kennel-rest for a week or more to make sure the fluid is gone and doesn’t re-build. Now for a 9-month old puppy, this is hard as he wants to play so bad. But he isn’t your normal pup. He stops playing when I ask and if he does get too excited and I kennel him, he goes in with very little if no complaints. I have been leaving him out of the kennel more as the week goes on and he is doing just fine. No coughing episodes and he’s remaining pretty calm.
 
Puma is a terrific dog and I can’t understand why he hasn’t been adopted, he’s near perfect! He is in love with my Saint Bernard and though they can’t play while Puma heals, they continue to share their bones and give each other lots of kisses, it’s quite the sight and great entertainment to watch! He is also staying with a 19 year old cat right now and doesn’t bat an eyelash at her, so he could go to a home with cats no problem.
 
Did I mention he’s close to perfect?

Kylah and Puma, the lovebirds

Puma has the sweetest face!

Gorgeous brindle markings

Lucky for me Puma's foster mom and dad were busy today, so I had the pleasure of hanging out with Puma. I just wanted to quick thank everyone who came to see Puma at the Blaine Chuck and Don's event. He sure enjoyed the attention and all of the belly scratches. There was even a nice lady who bought dog biscuits for each of the dogs at the event. This was truly Puma's lucky day, he even showed her how nice he can "sit" before she gave him the treat.
 
I was very impressed with what a good car rider Mr. Puma is. Wow! He is only a 9 month old puppy and he lays down and makes himself at home. He was so cute on the way home he just smashed his face between the drivers seat the the back passenger door. I think he was enjoying the cool air conditioned air that was blowing on his face from the vent.
 
I also could not believe how soft this guy is! Not only does he have the most interesting marking, but he is fun to pet. He likes the attention and I like how soft he is.
 
Because of his size, I kept forgetting that Puma is just a puppy. He was very attentive and listened to me when I talked to him. I really think this guy will excel at obedience training. He seems to be a smarty pants. When walking into the store today, Puma was so excited to get into the store and meet the other dogs that he started to bark as we were walking. I then remembered what his profile said. I just gave a gentle tug on his leash and said, "Puma." He looked at me and I ask him if he wanted a timeout. He stopped barking. :-) As I said...he is a smart cookie.
 
Good luck Puma! Thanks for spending your afternoon with me.

Happy 4th of July Puma fans!!   Puma has had a very exciting couple of weeks.   He went to Pet-a-Palooza in St. Paul last week.  He had a great time meeting both new human friends as well as a lot of different doggie friends.   Puma met a few dogs that even looked like he did.  There was a boxer rescue group at the event and it was even more clear that our sweet boy has boxer mixed in with his wonderful and awesome golden genes.  It's a great combination, buy hey, I could have told you that from the very first time we ever met Puma!!  He continues to grow and learn all the great things that are cool about being a very loved dog.  I can't believe how tall he is getting.  He is already taller than both my residents, but just not as wide.  I think he is probably around 75 pounds, and I don't think he will get much bigger.  But I always say that and then he grows a little more....  So we will see.
 
Last night the City of Bloomington had their Fireworks display and we can see them from our back deck.  My resident Fozzie hates fireworks so we keep him inside with all the doors and windows closed and the TV on so he does not freak out.  I thought Puma, being the explorer that he is would love to see the booms and pows of the fireworks.  Well, I was wrong.  I think he thought we were being attacked.    The fireworks started and he jumped a mile high and then proceeded to bark at the sky and run around the deck.   I don't think he was scared, but he definitely thought this was not a normal event and he wanted me to know that we needed to get to a safe place.  He did not stop barking until I came inside and sat downstairs with him and Fozzie (who was still shaking at this point).  My other resident, Stefy, slept through all this.   I absolutely love all the different personalities of each of the dogs.  They keep our house interesting for sure.
 
Puma also continues to slosh around in the pool.  He loves the water, although he has yet to take the big plunge and swim around.  I got in the pool last week, and I thought he was going to follow me, but instead, he jumped out and followed me from the side of the pool.   He also does not like one of the floaty toys we have.  I am not sure what the problem is, but whenever we bring out the one particular blue floaty, he barks at it until I put it away.   The rest do not bother him it all.  The only thing I can think of, is there is a picture of an ugly turtle on the toy, and it must annoy him.....????   He is too funny.  
 
As I say in all his updates, he is such a sweet and loving boy.   He is always the first to be at the door to greet you when you come home.  His little tail wags so fast, I think its going to fly off sometimes.  He has to be very close to his humans all the time.  When he wonders off, its not for long and then he is right back at your side just checking to make sure that you are where he last left you.  Sometimes I will need to go upstairs to do laundry or other stuff and I can hear him downstairs, walking around looking for me and then I hear the thump thump of his paws hitting the stairs.   He comes into the room where I am, and there goes the tail again...just wagging and his little rump wiggling with his tail.  He is so awesome!!!
 
As always, if you want to meet the dog of your dreams, Puma is your guy!!.   Contact placement if your interested in meeting our sweet, loving, awesome, incredible, smart, handsome......(I could go on and on)......PUMA!!!!  

Hi Everyone --  Puma is doing great.  We had a great weekend with some of it spent at the Eden Prairie Petsmart.   We met a lot of great people and a few seemed very interested in Puma.  The BIG surprise was seeing Puma's brother Panda.  His forever family brought Panda to see Puma and they had a blast!!   They played and jumped all over each other.  I know Puma loved loved loved to see Panda again!!   Thanks to Panda's family for making our day!!!
 
Puma continues to grow and is getting smarter by the day.  He understands a lot of commands.   Especially "time-out". I get a kick out of that as he corrects himself immediately if I say,"do you want a time-out".   He minds so much better than my own son.  I wish it were this simple with our human kids.
 
He is such an awesome dog, I continue to be amazed that he has not been adopted yet.   You don't know what you are missing out on with this special boy.   Please consider meeting him.  I know you will immediately fall in love with him.   Just like we did. 
 
Please contact placement to meet the dog of your dreams.  Enjoy the new pictures.   He is getting bigger but he is still a sweet and adorable puppy that I know you will not be able to resist.

He is soooooo cute!

Adopt me...please, please, please!!!

Hello everyone!!   So sorry it has been so long since our last update.   It has been a very busy month.  Puma continues to get bigger and smarter every day.  We took a spring break trip to Mexico and got a lot of much needed sun and fun!!   Puma and his foster brother and sister all wound up at the same place for their spring break fun as well.  Puma was suppose to go to his original foster for the week we were gone, but because of the snow storm that we got that day, we decided at the last minute to kennel all the dogs together.   It actually worked out good for everyone!!   A big shout out to the Canine Country Club in Elko for taking such awesome care of our puppies.  Puma did great with all the other dogs and he came home and slept for about 2 days straight. 
 
Puma is really becoming an awesome young dog.   He weighs 50 pounds and I really don't think he is going to be a very big dog.   He continues to be the most cuddly and loving puppy.  He is truly a velcro dog and is never too far from my side or the sides of his foster siblings.  We continue to work on the barking issue that he has.  He is so curious that he barks when he senses someone on the other side of our fence.  We have started to use time-outs for this behavior and it is really working out great.  All I need to say is "time-out  time"  and he immediately quiets down.   He does not like his time-outs because he is not allowed to be around me or our resident dogs, which is really hard for him.   He is so social!!    Unbelievably, the barking is the only issue that can be annoying with him.   He plays great with humans and other dogs.  He is very gentle.  He loves his toys and chew bones.    He has no guarding issues with food or toys.  When he needs to go outside, he just sits by the door and looks up at the door handle.   I cannot say enough positive things about this special boy.
 
It has been so fun watching him discover the yard and trees with NO SNOW!!    He has never experienced spring before and I can tell he absolutely loves being outside and exploring all the new sights and smells of a world without snow and cold.  He loves to chew sticks - and like another foster dog we had last year, Puma is a great dog if you need mulch.    We already have piles of mulch sticks all over the place.  It will be interesting to see how he will react to the pool when we open it up in the next few weeks.  I have a feeling he will be a water dog...but we will see. 
 
If you have a fenced yard and another dog for Puma to play with, he is the perfect dog for you!!    He is truly special in every way.   Contact your placement advisor to meet one of the best dogs I have fostered!
 
Thank you so much for the spring donations in Puma's name!!!    Evelyn, Puma thinks you a pretty special sister and Panda is so lucky to have you!!!    We can't wait to see you guys next week!!  
 
Thanks again Puma supporters!!!!

Hello Puma fans!!!!  Our boy is doing so well.  He is growing by the day, but I still think he is going to be on the smaller side of the typical golden/boxer mix.   I am thinking about 50 to 60 pounds -  tops.   He still looks like a puppy to me.  He is also developing into a respectful and well mannered puppy.  He does not jump up when he greets you, he does not have the typical bitey puppy behaviors. He still has his moments when he barks at things on the other side of our fence that he cannot see, but it has definitely been improving. He still gets a little growly when he plays with my residents, but I honestly think he does that because my dogs are growly when they play as well.  Dogs will be dogs!!  And he is one awesome dog.  He loves playing with my resident dogs and I am truly glad he has them to really learn and socialize with them.  
 
It's very fun to watch him playing outside in the nice weather.  I have to keep telling myself that he has never seen grass.  He has only been around snow.... and a lot of it!!   Every day is a new discovery for him as more and more of the yard is being uncovered.  He can't quite figure out the pool yet.  He used to be able to run across it.....now it is mostly water and ice.   I don't think he is a fan.  He is also discovering that sticks are a lot of fun to play with and drag around.  He is such a sweet playful boy.
 
He is a true velcro dog. The longer he is with us, the more he is opening up and wanting to cuddle and snuggle. He has always slept in my bed at night. I allowed this because of the multiple transitions he has had and that my dogs sleep in my bedroom -on the floor - as well.   He will not sleep in his dog bed during the night time hours.   You can see in the picture, he likes his dog bed for the quick day time naps only.   When night time hits, he will sneek up to my bed to sleep - even before I go to bed.  He does sleep all night in my bed.  He is a boy who really likes comfort.  He does have to snuggle before he goes to bed but then he goes to his corner of the bed and sleeps until I wake up and then its all about kisses and tail wags!!    He really is so great to wake up to.
 
His training is coming along.  We are walking him regularly and he does great on a leash. Very little pulling.  He only pulls when he smells something on the side of the street that intrigues him.  A fire hydrant for example has many different smells - so Puma really wants to check it out.  He is super smart and I think with continued training, he will be very well mannered -  he is already pretty close to well mannered as it is. He is a very easy dog to have around.   Just the occasional barking is the only thing I see as being a bother sometimes.   Oh - and his gas is much much better!!!   I don't even remember the last time he had a room clearer!!!
 
Just to let everyone know about our schedule in the next couple weeks (because I am sure that someone out there wants to meet him right now!!).    We are going on spring break and will not be back until April 2nd.   So contact your placement advisor to meet this very very special boy after April 2nd.   I hope you love the pictures of him.   He gets more adorable and loving by the day!!!   He really is too awesome for words.....

I get cuter by the day!!!	This is the face that melts hearts...
I think it's time for a quick nap	I am getting bigger...but still not as big as foster bro Fozzie

We have had such a great week with Puma.   He really is an awesome puppy.  He has his moments of being the pesky little brother with my resident dogs, but for the most part he is your typical puppy with lots of energy and curiosity. 
 
On Saturday we were at the Eden Prairie Petsmart and he did great.  He met lots of wonderful people and  had a great time with some of the other RAGOM dogs.  I will say he was completely wiped out after that and slept a lot the rest of the day.  He is so sweet.