September 11, 2013

It is truly our pleasure to introduce you to Becky 13-233! Becky is a beautiful, mahogany, 2 1/2-year-old Golden Retriever that made her way to RAGOM from a puppy mill. She joined RAGOM with Liberty 13-231 and Joyce 13-232 a little over three weeks ago. Becky is being fostered in Mazeppa, Minnesota. She came to RAGOM weighing 66 pounds so she is a little overweight. She weighed 64 pounds when she went to be spayed one week later on August 30th. We are estimating she has lost at least 4 more pounds since then so she is inching toward her goal weight of 55. In spite of the fact she came from a puppy mill, she has a gorgeous, thick, curly coat. Several baths and some high quality food later, her coat just shines!

It’s a long way back from being a puppy mill mama to becoming a well-adjusted Golden Retriever, but Becky has been making amazing progress. At first she was afraid of everything, especially doors, stairs, and her Foster Dad. Luckily, she has warmed up to FD and now comes to him looking to give kisses in exchange for ear scratches. One thing she was not afraid of was other dogs – Becky moved in with our pack and has shown impeccable dog manners. She even knows when to give her grouchy foster sister a little extra space! Over Labor Day weekend our daughters were home with their dogs – all told we had ten dogs, five adult humans, and one two-year-old. It was quite a raucous holiday and Becky survived that.

Oh Boy! Mom’s got treats! With foster siblings Riley and Lily.

Becky was a little confused about the Chuckit game that her foster siblings play every night – slowly, she is starting to catch on and now she is bounding after the ball with the foster pack. She even snatches the ball up once in a while – fun! Today, Becky actually initiated play with her foster brother Riley. That was a big step! She was bouncing around like a puppy - probably her first puppyhood playtime since we imagine she was allowed little chance of that at the mill.

Becky is house-broken – amazingly she arrived that way. Becky respects baby gates, and tolerates a crate although she would much rather not go in a crate (probably had enough of crates at the mill). Becky has the most beautiful eyes and a terrific Golden smile! Day by day, her sweet personality emerges!

Always smiling!

First and foremost, what Becky needs in a forever home is a family that has the time and is committed to patiently helping her move from a scared puppy mill survivor to a happy, well-adjusted Golden Retriever. She has made great progress in the first three weeks in foster care, but years of puppy mill life aren’t erased quickly.

Other needs in Becky’s new forever home would be:

• A physical fence or a family that is prepared to keep her on lead when outdoors until she gains enough trust in humans and good enough recall to be trusted off a leash. No invisible fences, please.
• It would be nice to have another well-adjusted dog in the home.
• She has not been tested with cats yet, so that is an unknown. As soon as we introduce her to our daughter’s cat, we will provide an update.
• Becky has been toddler tested with our two-year-old granddaughter, so she should be OK with all children. Right now, loud, active kids would probably frighten her.
• Becky was left home for a full work day today since FD picked up some work – she was crated with the rest of our pack and did very well. However, she is used to having someone around most of the time in her foster home.