Sally 18-178A

Sally 18-178A

Profile

Sally is a happy, friendly, and curious purebred Golden Retriever, almost four years old. She came into RAGOM as a breeding female from a commercial facility and is just now experiencing the outside world. Sally is healthy, but unfortunately during her vet exam she was diagnosed with heartworms and is starting treatment expected to last several months. We will keep you posted on her progress.

At a Glance #18-178A

Golden Retriever Born: November 2014
Female 58 lbs

Status: Adopted

Profile

Sally is a happy, friendly, and curious purebred Golden Retriever, almost four years old. She came into RAGOM as a breeding female from a commercial facility and is just now experiencing the outside world. Sally is healthy, but unfortunately during her vet exam she was diagnosed with heartworms and is starting treatment expected to last several months. We will keep you posted on her progress.

Updates

Monday, February 18, 2019

Sally’s been adopted by the T family! 

Sally 18-178A

Thursday, January 17, 2019

Sally is happy to say that she passed her heartworm treatment with flying colors and is now looking for a forever family!

Snuggling with Foster Mom is the first thing Sally does upon waking up in the morning.
Snuggling with Foster Mom is the first thing Sally does upon waking up in the morning.
When Sally is happy, she likes to wriggle with a stuffed toy in her mouth. The giraffe is her favorite this week.
When Sally is happy, she likes to wriggle with a stuffed toy in her mouth. The giraffe is her favorite this week.

Sally has a special spot on the living room floor that she likes to lay. Sometimes she takes advantage of a nearby plant stand for a head rest.

Some of Sally’s needs in a forever home: lots of daily exercise, love, and routine.

Wednesday, December 19, 2018

Sally seems to have weathered the heartworm treatment injection received last week well. She was sore on her back end where the shot was given for a couple of days, otherwise all appears fine. A second injection is scheduled for January. Sometime after that, her blood will be tested and we hope that the heartworms will be gone by Spring. Time will tell.

Sally’s hind leg feathering is growing out, adding to the beauty of her dark gold fur. She’s a calm and loving dog, not afraid of much, and has no problem with the cold weather.

Sally enjoys digging her snout into the snow!
Sally enjoys digging her snout into the snow!
Sally’s hind leg feathers are growing out. They were previously kept clipped by her breeder.
Sally’s hind leg feathers are growing out. They were previously kept clipped by her breeder.

As a former breeding dog, Sally will need another dog in her forever home—one that is medium size or larger, and confident. Although she would likely be fine with young children, she has already put her time in with the stress of pregnancy, birthing and raising puppies, so we will look for a family with no children younger than 10 years old.

Sally weighs just under 60 pounds and is a strongly built dog. She will need lots of daily exercise and attention. The nice thing about her age, having just turned 4 years old, is that she is house-trained and is way past the chewing stage.

Car rides are a good thing in Sally’s book!
Car rides are a good thing in Sally’s book!

Sunday, November 25, 2018

Calm and loving are two key descriptive words for Sally, especially now that she has had some time to adjust to her new environment.

Sally has white fur on her toes.
Sally has white fur on her toes.

Thanksgiving came and went with lots of activity, new people, and visiting dogs. She had no problem with any of it. She walked up to the new visitors so that they could pet her, and played with the new dogs.

Sally has beautiful white whiskers.
Sally has beautiful white whiskers.

She is not big on playing, but likes to do what the rest of the dogs are doing and being part of the pack. She rides well in the car. We are teaching her how to sit to take treats, which is a bit of a struggle, but she will get it in time.

Sally likes car rides.
Sally likes car rides.

In mid-December, she will receive an injection to kill adult heartworms that may be living in her heart. She has been receiving heartworm preventatives, plus prednisone and doxycycline, to kill the eggs. She will need to go through this process twice. Hopefully by early Spring, Sally’s heartworm tests will be negative, allowing her to be available for adoption.

Monday, November 5, 2018

Sally is turning out to be quite the Cook’s Helper!

Sally 18-178A
Sally 18-178A
Sally 18-178A

Monday, October 22, 2018

This is Sally checking in. I have been staying with my foster family for four weeks now. Sounds like I am going to be here awhile ‘cause they say I have heartworms. I think this must be a term of endearment, because they like me and I get along with all of the other fur-kids here.

My favorite hangout is the stair landing off the kitchen. I can keep an eye on the kitchen floor and make sure it stays clean that way.

Sally 18-178A

I also enjoy keeping my family company in the dining room and smiling up at them. That way they can be assured if anything drops, it will be cleaned up right away.

Sally 18-178A

I try to be helpful by barking when I see squirrels or rabbits out the window in the backyard. I know my foster family does not want those pesky varmints eating the garden produce or stealing acorns that Foster Mom needs for fabric dyeing.

Sally 18-178A

Monday, October 15, 2018

Sally has been with us for three weeks now and has adjusted real well. She loves being with our resident dogs and doing whatever they do. Unlike our dogs, she does not get on furniture—it doesn't even occur to her. She is content on the floor with a blanket, dog bed, and/or a stuffed toy.

On the other hand, she has a ways to go on learning not to search the kitchen counter for anything with meat in it. Her nose sniffs out the presence of meat immediately in a room. She does respond to "no," so that is a plus!

Going up and down stairs is a piece of cake now—so is getting in the car. Her personality is coming out more now that she is settling in. We've learned she has a bit of a stubborn streak if she wants to stay where she is and not move. 

Some positive reinforcement work is needed. We've decided she was handled a lot in her prior life as a breeding dog. She is comfortable being touched anytime and is not afraid of anything.

Sally was not real thrilled with going to the vet but made it through. She didn't shake, just dug her heels in to not move. For the next six to eighteen months she will be treated for heartworm disease. We are hopeful that Sally's infection will be eliminated sooner rather than later. In the meantime, she is not showing any symptoms.

Sally 18-178A
Sally 18-178A
Sally 18-178A

Thursday, October 4, 2018

Sally is a sweet purebred Golden Retriever, formerly a breeding female in a commercial facility. As you can see, she's beautiful with soft gold fur and a black nose. Her fur and tail feathers will grow out, now that she is no longer pregnant and nursing.

Sally likes stuffies and is especially playful first thing in the morning.
Sally likes stuffies and is especially playful first thing in the morning.

She appears to have a strong constitution—both mentally and physically—she just lacks experience with many things. She's more than willing to get inside a vehicle, but she just doesn't know where to put her feet. With leash in hand, Foster Dad puts her front paws on the seat and lifts her back end in, and she's good to go.

Climbing up steps is new, but doable. Getting down is another feat. She's not afraid, she just doesn't know how and where to put her back legs and how to coordinate the timing with her front legs. I watched her experiment, with some amusement.

She would start walking down the steps with her front legs and could reach the third step without moving her back feet. She couldn't go any further because her body wouldn't stretch that far. She is bound and determined to learn though.

Sally readily comes when called unless she is preoccupied with something else. She isn't afraid of other dogs or humans and will gladly stay still for pets. She reads signals from other dogs well, being neither submissive nor dominant.

Sally loves attention!
Sally loves attention!

The first day she arrived at our home, Sally spent her time sniffing all around the house and fenced yard. She was not interested in eating dog food at first (too nervous), but she was more than happy to take some chicken breast from my spread-out hand.

Sally is beginning treatment for heartworms, which is expected to last several months. We will keep you posted on her progress.

Sally 18-178A