Ruby 12-416

Profile

Sponsored by:

Gretchen S and Family, and Cedar

Pippi, Ella, and Macie
"Happy forever home"

Love from Taylor, Aspen, Peyton, Hayden, Caiden, Cameron, Peggy (FKA Dane) & Jayden
"On January 15, 2009, we were rescued from a cold, dark, filthy pig barn in Southern MN.
Thanks to RAGOM, we are warm, we love the sunshine, we smell sweet and we are LOVED!"

A portion of Ruby's medical care was paid for by a generous grant from the Golden Retriever Foundation's April Fund

December 24, 2012

Dear Santa,

Well it is Christmas Eve and I am writing to you on this special night to let you know I have moved residences so you can bring my presents to the correct address. You see, we were rescued by RAGOM on December 13th, along with a bunch of other dogs. My sister Jewel 12-415 and I got to stay a couple of nights with Kim J., our first two nights inside a nice warm loving home. We then moved to our foster home where we have been for the past week. We will be staying here for a while until we can find new families of our own that will love each of us for life.

I am 5 months old and some people told me our birthdate is July 4, 2012: apparently that is another big holiday to celebrate. I am a whopping 29 pounds so far but have some growing to do to become a big strong girl. Everyone that meets me says I am just precious and sweet.

When we arrived at our foster home, there were five other dogs here. Two are my size and three are bigger. I quickly wanted to play after seeing how friendly the dogs were.

We met the resident dogs one by one to get to know each other. Within an hour or so, all seven of us were all running around the yard chasing each other! All the humans were so happy to see Jewel and I being happy playful puppies. After all of that exercise, we both got a nice warm bath and snuggle time with Kelly, Kris, and Karen.

I sustained some type of injury a while ago, probably from some sharp objects, and a chunk of my lip is missing so my teeth show. Jewel has a similar injury but bigger. One present I am getting in January will be surgery to repair my lip from a wonderful surgeon named Dr. R. I need the surgery to help make sure I do not develop oral problems down the road as my mouth and exposed teeth would dry out a lot. Here is a picture of my lip.

But don't feel sorry for me or Jewel. Our injuries in no way stop us from being playful puppies!

I am a little more trusting of people than Jewel. I am constantly looking at FM's hand to see what treat is coming next! I even learned to "Sit" on my second day here and now can do it on command. I don't want to brag, but I think I am pretty smart!

Jewel and I have adjusted really well to indoor life. We are not afraid of loud noises and even like to snooze on the couch after playtime and watch the big TV with everyone. I even crawled into FM's lap yesterday during a movie and snuggled in for a nap. Jewel even approached FM to lay next to her. I am proud of my sister for getting more brave every day.

We learned how to do the stairs our second night here. I took to it pretty fast after watching one of the residents show me the ropes a few times. FM had a big grin on her face after I successfully went up and down. After a few kisses on my head from FM, I decided I wanted to practice, so I went up and down four more times on my own without anyone telling me too. I was so proud of myself and I could see FM was proud too!

I am a brave and inquisitive girl and like to test the boundaries like the baby gates. I have knocked one over a couple of times (ok, so FM just leans them against the walls, how secure is that reall!). I love to be outside running in the snow and chewing on twigs. A good game of chase usually happens a few times on each outing too. One of the resident dogs corrects me if I get in her face too much. I am good at reading that signal and will sit down and get a little submissive.

We crate up pretty well and do not protest...much. Ok, so I have found my voice shall we say and ask to come out. I do quiet down after a minute and just relax. We are in the crate when FM is at work and someone comes at lunch to feed us and play with us. At night, we are in a crate in the bedroom and we sleep 7+ hours without so much as a peep from either of us until FM is ready to get up and let us out. We RUN to the door to go outside too! I am even learing to ring the sleigh bells on the door to go out now. Yep, I am smart.

Here is a pic of us chilling out in the office while FM is on the computer. I am the gorgeous one in the front.

Well Santa, that is my story so far. Just wanted to make sure you knew where Jewel and I had gone.

What we would like for Christmas is a few chew toys to put in our stockings FM got us (we are chewing puppies after all). Additionally, if you could spread the word to your friends that Jewel and I will have surgery in the middle of January and could use some financial help to pay for that, we would appreciate that as well.

There is no chimney here for you to come down, so you can leave the presents anywhere and we will sniff them out! You can always wake us up to give hugs too!

Love,
Ruby

At a Glance #12-416

Golden Retriever Born: July 2012
Female 20 lbs

Status: Adopted

Profile

Sponsored by:

Gretchen S and Family, and Cedar

Pippi, Ella, and Macie
"Happy forever home"

Love from Taylor, Aspen, Peyton, Hayden, Caiden, Cameron, Peggy (FKA Dane) & Jayden
"On January 15, 2009, we were rescued from a cold, dark, filthy pig barn in Southern MN.
Thanks to RAGOM, we are warm, we love the sunshine, we smell sweet and we are LOVED!"

A portion of Ruby's medical care was paid for by a generous grant from the Golden Retriever Foundation's April Fund

December 24, 2012

Dear Santa,

Well it is Christmas Eve and I am writing to you on this special night to let you know I have moved residences so you can bring my presents to the correct address. You see, we were rescued by RAGOM on December 13th, along with a bunch of other dogs. My sister Jewel 12-415 and I got to stay a couple of nights with Kim J., our first two nights inside a nice warm loving home. We then moved to our foster home where we have been for the past week. We will be staying here for a while until we can find new families of our own that will love each of us for life.

I am 5 months old and some people told me our birthdate is July 4, 2012: apparently that is another big holiday to celebrate. I am a whopping 29 pounds so far but have some growing to do to become a big strong girl. Everyone that meets me says I am just precious and sweet.

When we arrived at our foster home, there were five other dogs here. Two are my size and three are bigger. I quickly wanted to play after seeing how friendly the dogs were.

We met the resident dogs one by one to get to know each other. Within an hour or so, all seven of us were all running around the yard chasing each other! All the humans were so happy to see Jewel and I being happy playful puppies. After all of that exercise, we both got a nice warm bath and snuggle time with Kelly, Kris, and Karen.

I sustained some type of injury a while ago, probably from some sharp objects, and a chunk of my lip is missing so my teeth show. Jewel has a similar injury but bigger. One present I am getting in January will be surgery to repair my lip from a wonderful surgeon named Dr. R. I need the surgery to help make sure I do not develop oral problems down the road as my mouth and exposed teeth would dry out a lot. Here is a picture of my lip.

But don't feel sorry for me or Jewel. Our injuries in no way stop us from being playful puppies!

I am a little more trusting of people than Jewel. I am constantly looking at FM's hand to see what treat is coming next! I even learned to "Sit" on my second day here and now can do it on command. I don't want to brag, but I think I am pretty smart!

Jewel and I have adjusted really well to indoor life. We are not afraid of loud noises and even like to snooze on the couch after playtime and watch the big TV with everyone. I even crawled into FM's lap yesterday during a movie and snuggled in for a nap. Jewel even approached FM to lay next to her. I am proud of my sister for getting more brave every day.

We learned how to do the stairs our second night here. I took to it pretty fast after watching one of the residents show me the ropes a few times. FM had a big grin on her face after I successfully went up and down. After a few kisses on my head from FM, I decided I wanted to practice, so I went up and down four more times on my own without anyone telling me too. I was so proud of myself and I could see FM was proud too!

I am a brave and inquisitive girl and like to test the boundaries like the baby gates. I have knocked one over a couple of times (ok, so FM just leans them against the walls, how secure is that reall!). I love to be outside running in the snow and chewing on twigs. A good game of chase usually happens a few times on each outing too. One of the resident dogs corrects me if I get in her face too much. I am good at reading that signal and will sit down and get a little submissive.

We crate up pretty well and do not protest...much. Ok, so I have found my voice shall we say and ask to come out. I do quiet down after a minute and just relax. We are in the crate when FM is at work and someone comes at lunch to feed us and play with us. At night, we are in a crate in the bedroom and we sleep 7+ hours without so much as a peep from either of us until FM is ready to get up and let us out. We RUN to the door to go outside too! I am even learing to ring the sleigh bells on the door to go out now. Yep, I am smart.

Here is a pic of us chilling out in the office while FM is on the computer. I am the gorgeous one in the front.

Well Santa, that is my story so far. Just wanted to make sure you knew where Jewel and I had gone.

What we would like for Christmas is a few chew toys to put in our stockings FM got us (we are chewing puppies after all). Additionally, if you could spread the word to your friends that Jewel and I will have surgery in the middle of January and could use some financial help to pay for that, we would appreciate that as well.

There is no chimney here for you to come down, so you can leave the presents anywhere and we will sniff them out! You can always wake us up to give hugs too!

Love,
Ruby

Updates

Monday, December 16, 2013

Wow, time flies! Can't believe it's been one year on December 13th, that a group of wonderful RAGOM volunteers rescued me, sister Jewel (12-415) and other dogs and helped us start a GReat life! I am so grateful to everybody who helped me become the happy, confident dog I am today.

I felt so lucky to have found my forever home and have an awesome brother. Unfortunately my happiness was interrupted when my brother Sam (07-108) was diagnosed with hemangiosarcoma on August 5. I did not really know what that meant, but I knew it was something bad, because all the humans in the house cried and Sam did not want to play with me. He seemed tired and slept a lot. Four days later my pal was gone. How can life be so cruel? I had just found my forever home 3 months earlier, had the best brother ever and then this! I have never been alone in my life so I was really sad. What cheered me up was the fact that I got to spent some amazing days with my former FM Cindy and her pups (Kraelyn and Lilly) while my family was on vacation. That was so much fun: I was so busy playing, helping out at the RAGOM garage sale and going to different events that I forgot about my sadness. September was a great month 'cause I got a new brother! He is a RAGOM boy - Codee #12-238 - but we call him Cody. He is my soulmate. He knows when to play, when we have to chase squirrels or bunnies in the backyard or when we should just lie low.

We are so excited about our first Christmas in our forever home. We have never seen a Christmas tree before and we really like the lights and the ornaments.

Last year I asked Santa to find me a forever home and my wish came true.

Wishing all of you Merry Christmas and a happy, healthy New Year!

XOXO

Ruby

Monday, June 24, 2013

Hi! 

It's been almost 2 months since I found my forever home and just wanted to let all of my fans out there know that I am doing GReat!  My brother Sam (08-107) is the best brother one can wish for. He likes to play with me, is patient when I have the "zoomies" and feel like running in circles, but he also lets me know when I need to give him a break.

I am very busy going to doggie class every Sunday, then I have playdates (check out the pic of me and my sister Jewel - she came to my house and I showed her around!!!). I have also attended a few RAGOM events and recently I picked up gardening. I help Mom with the tools and then I do the digging :)

That's it for now, gotta run!

I'll be at the Pet-A-Palooza on Saturday

See you then,

Ruby (a.k.a. Dora the Explorer)

Tuesday, May 7, 2013

Hi Everyone,

I have some GReat news to share! I have been adopted! Can you believe it?! I am so happy to have a family of my very own and have a last name too. I have a mom, a dad, two human sisters and a fur-butt brother named Sam. He is also a RAGOM pupper they adopted 5 years ago. He is bigger than me, so we will be able to wrestle all rough and tough--just the way I like to roll.

Here is a picture of mom, dad, me and Sam. Don't you just love Sam's Golden Smile?

The morning I was adopted, Jewel, my foster-sisters and I decided to do the zoomies in the house and mess up the vertical blinds (ok, so like every day, 10 times a day). Here is a picture of us admitting to NOTHING! We all have pretty good poker faces.

Though I will miss Jewel and my foster-sisters, foster-cousins and FM a ton, I am so excited to start a new chapter in my life. My new family promises to keep me in contact with my foster family and bring me to various RAGOM events and play dates. I am already signed up for obedience classes starting next month, so new places for me to explore, new friends to meet and new skills to learn.

I have quite a few Thank You's to say.

  • First and foremost, to RAGOM for rescuing me and my sister, Jewel, and a whole bunch of other needy dogs last December 13th. Without them and all of you wonderful people that financially support RAGOM's mission, our futures would not be so bright like they are now.
  • To my rescue moms and dad, Karen, Denise, Kris, and Kelly, for making the long journey to pick us up, getting us to our foster home and letting us have sleepovers with your furr-kids.
  • To the awesome Dr. R for life-changing surgery to repair our faces from the injuries we sustained and give us Golden Smiles; you are a true angel for animals in need.
  • To Uncle Chip and Amy L. for the countless number of hours you spent with us playing outside at lunchtime while FM was at work these past five months.
  • To Jean and Joy 12-418, Konnie, Angie and Dayle for letting us hang out at your houses to have new experiences and grow in confidence.
  • And lastly to our foster-sisters, Kraelyn and Lilly, and foster-cousins, Pippi, Ella and Macie, and FM for letting us share your home, teaching us how to transition to indoor dogs and live in a safe home, sharing beds, toys, food and treats. Foster homes are the critical link to helping rescue dogs find our forever homes.

You have all played a significant part in helping us on our journey to become the dogs we were meant to be -- confident, trusting of humans, fun-loving, and most of all, LOVED. I vow to return that LOVE and paw-it-forward ten-fold.

Thank you all for following my story for the past five months. I hope I will see many of my fans at RAGOM events in the future. When you see me, be sure to stop and say hello. Until then, I will be off on new adventures living the Golden Life and fetching slippers for my new dad. I sure hope he likes them on the damp side...

Love to you all,

Ruby, "Dora the Explorer"

Wednesday, May 1, 2013

Happy May Day Everyone!

I am so happy that spring has finally arrived, though it felt like summer last weekend!  Jewel and my foster sisters and friend Bree and I took a roadtrip to New Ulm to have a playdate with Max 12-380, Grizz, Scout and Skye.  We had an awesome time running around the yard, in and out of the house, playing in the kiddie pool and getting all sorts of treats! (Thanks for the strawberries and blackberries, Dayle!)  We all road so nicely in the car those silly human chauffeurs forgot we were even in the car!

Here is me at the start of the trip asking "Are we there yet?"  I quickly moved to my position in the back seat and watched out of window at all of the wonderful sites. I really do love travelling.

I have been earning my room and board here by performing Neighborhood Watch duties. My foster sisters taught me the correct procedure. Here Jewel and I are taking our watch shift.  I am the one laying down.

Over the past few weeks, Jewel and I have attended a whole bunch of Meet and Greets as we look for our forever family.  I am up to my usual antics by crawling into the store shelving.  I took a break from the bags of dog food to search out this comfy bed.  However, I think it was made for Baby Bear as it was too small.  I could have used that 5 months ago!  Anyways, my days get so busy at those events chatting up all the people that I have to come home to take a power nap.

Well it is time to find something to chew on, so I'll chat at you later. (Don't tell FM, but I know how to open the closet door to steal slippers now.  I call it being in "Dora Mode".)

Love, 

Ruby

Thursday, April 11, 2013

Hi Ruby Fans!

Special hugs and kisses out to Judith C. and Danielle B. and Maizy for the Valentine's Icon!  Sorry we didn't see those before. We have been having some technical difficulties with my page.

I hope everyone is enjoying the nice S-N-O-W-E-Y spring we are having! I love running around in it and eating the cold stuff. FM even makes us snowballs to chomp on. Nummy!

Here I am with a snowball prancing around the yard with Jewel following close behind yesterday.

And I have a secret hiding place in the backyard too. Well, ok, maybe not so secret, but I bring toys outside and stash them in here for future use.

With the constant snowing and melting, FM is not fond of how muddy the backyard has become. Personally, I don't mind the mud, and actually like to run around in it! I get my feet all muddy and so does Jewel and then we wrestle. Needless to say, we then require a full bath instead of just a paw/undercarriage washing.

I don't like the baths as much as Jewel does. I usually try to climb out of the bathtub. I just don't understand why Jewel sits there so patiently. I think she enjoys pampering more than I do. And our foster sisters actually climb into the tub on command to get paw washes. Hmmm. But in my defense, I do jump in the tub so I can steal that little drain-pluggy thingy and run around the house with it, clanking it on the floors and tables. And Jewel and I have learned to drink from the faucet in the tub with our foster sisters. They love fresh cold water and will stand in front of the tub and bark until FM comes to turn it on. Those silly doodles.

Here is a current picture of my face. FM puts vitamin E oil on it nightly with a massage to loosen up the scar tissue. I totally do not like it when she comes at me with that bottle. However, I have learned resistance is futile, so I submit. At least there are some tasty treats at the end of that process.

Life has been good here over the past few weeks. We get to go on walks and I totally love that! I tend to do some sniffing around for the first five minutes or so and then I settle into walk mode. I walk really well next to one of my foster sisters too. A little bit of pulling but I am learning. FM has walked me by myself too and I am great. There is even slack in the leash. I am quiet as a mouse even when I see another dog or a squirrel. I just watch. I have very good observational skills to go along with my Dora The Explorer skills!

Car rides are another highlight of my week. Jumping into and out of the car are a snap for Jewel and me. Sometimes I will hesitate when going through doors at the vet or pet stores, but FM just coaxes me along and I see Jewel barreling through so I follow willingly. I will practice again this weekend.

When FM does whatever she does on the computer and she needs to keep an eye on us (because we are mischieveous... hee hee), I like to snooze under the desk on her feet. Sometimes one of my foster-sisters is under there too so I will cuddle up. And I am getting to be quite the couch cuddler for watching TV too.

As for the medical stuff, I had my heartworm test last Saturday and that was negative. So no more medical stuff for me for a long time! Yea! Though I really loved going to see Dr. R and give her hugs, so I will miss that.

Jewel and I will be at Chuck and Don's Edina for the Meet and Greet this coming Sunday April 14th. I sure hope I meet my forever family there! I still have the same requirements of needing another large confident dog, no kids under 12 and a physical fence. If you think that could be you, please come see me and contact your placement advisor too!

Love,

Ruby

Thursday, March 21, 2013

Hello there Ruby Fans!

It's just me checking in.  Can you believe that Spring is finally here?!  So what's up with all the snow anyways?  I think groundhog Phil guy needs to go find another line of work, cuz he sure got it wrong this year.  I've been keeping an eye on the weather report and they say more snow this weekend.  Now I really do like snow, but this super cold dry snow causes me to do the 3-foot dance in the backyard because my tender toes get so cold. This will be my first spring so I am excited to explore all the smells beneath the snow and of course find all of my sticks that were buried.

I continue to do well in foster care hanging out with everyone and playing.  I am loving car rides now visiting pet stores and other places.  We jump into the car in excited anticipation of new adventures.  We don't have to ride in crates anymore either, so we love sitting in the back and watching everything outside.  People in the cars behind us even wave to us when we flash our golden smiles.  We are very good car riders -- our foster sisters taught us well. Under full disclosure, we are behind a barrier so we can't jump over the seats and cause trouble.

I am even learning valuable skills in foster care.  Here is my foster sister Kraelyn teaching me the ins and outs of Neighborhood Watch.  Good thing those vertical blinds separate!  We love to hang out in the bay window and nose paint the window.  FM really needs to give it a good cleaning this weekend as our vision is becoming obstructed.

Jewel and I even got to go to the Board meeting at the office last weekend and hang out with our fans.  We love, love, love getting hugs from everyone and sitting in their laps. We have doubled in size since coming into RAGOM and now are 40 pounds of soft furry love.

Check out some of our pictures from the office. Thanks to DevonTT for bringing her camera to capture our beauty!  The first one is showing off how well my face healed up from my surgery.  The second is me and Jewel mugging for the camera.

I am no longer on any restrictions for chewing as I am all healed up now from my surgery.  I will probably always have a thin scar through my lip but FM says that it will be a good conversation piece for me to tell my story of life in a puppymill.  Everyone wishes I would not have had that experience, but I am going to turn that lemon into lemonade!

Saturday night I had another sleepover with Snickers as I was getting cabin fever at home and needed a change of scenery.  Jewel stayed home as she is still healing from her second surgery.  During a play session with the other dogs, I inadvertently got a tooth between the eyes.  Well, by the next morning my face was all swollen up so we thought it best to get checked out.  Dr. C. put a needle in to draw out some fluid to check for infection.  There was one so now I am on antibiotics for 2 weeks.  FM also puts warm packs on my face to help encourage healing.  I like that much better than the cold packs!  We do those packs while snuggling in bed and it makes me really sleepy. FM sure loves sleepy cuddly puppies!

On Friday, I am tagging along with Jewel on her appointment to see our surgeon Dr. R.  She needs to get her sutures removed.  Hopefully she can take off the comfy cone too!  I can't wait for Dr. R to see how well my fur grew back and give her a big hug and kiss for making a huge difference in my life! 

That's it for now. More later.

Love ya all!

Ruby

Thursday, March 21, 2013

You've Stolen our hearts-Happy Valentine's Day!-Judith C.  You've Stolen our hearts-Happy Valentine's Day!-Judith C.

You have won my heart from hundreds of miles away, I know your sweet heart will find a perfect family, Happy Valentines Day Ruby ~ Danielle B. & Maizy You have won my heart from hundreds of miles away. I know your sweet heart will find a perfect family! Happy Valentine's Day. Ruby! Danielle B and Maizy

Friday, March 8, 2013

Hi everyone, Ruby here checking in. I know it has been a while since my last update. We keep FM so busy at night she can't sit down to take my dictation! I would type it myself, but I make too many typos and you wouldn't have any idea what I was saying.

I am doing great in foster care hanging out with my sister Jewel, my foster sisters, and foster cousins. I am growing like a weed and people remark on how much Jewel and I have grown since we were rescued on December 13, 2012. We eat a lot here, and very enthusiastically I might add! Our coats are nice and soft and we are growing the most beautiful feathering our or back legs.

We totally loved all of the new snow last Tuesday. FM even worked from home so we were in and out all day. I bet there were a bunch of doggies out in RAGOMLand that were just as excited as we were. It was a blast leaping through all of the deep snow, but it is exhausting working that hard. Nonetheless, we all did our best to tear up the yard!

When we are outside, Jewel and I are still obsessed with twigs and sticks, and I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE chewing on icicles! FM knocks them off the gutters and gives them to us. I bet there will be a bunch of those forming in the next couple of weeks with the warmer weather. Here's a pic of Jewel and me prancing around the yard with a stick. We are great at the Tadem Stick Carry event.

Last weekend we went to the Meet and Greet at Petco. One of my favorite thing to do at these events is to crawl into the store shelving. I do this at every event. I am such a bargain at $2.00 off here! And of course, I am constantly exploring everything I can. I even sniffed out a rawhide that was under the shelving and wedged my body under to retrieve it. Jewel tried to assist, but honestly, there was no way I was going to share that. Turns out I could not keep my prize as FM took it away. There were too many dogs around and those can be really high value treats and she didn't want it to cause a ruckus.

Our foster sisters and Jewel and I also got to mini roadtrip to Rescue Dad Kelly's house to play with his pack of dogs and 2 cocker spaniels that came from the same mill we did. The younger one was playful, and at times snarky, and the little girl who is 3 was pretty scared and spent most of the time in the corner of the yard. All of us took turns checking on her and showing her gentle love. We tried coaxing her out to come play with us and a couple of times she was brave and did but then ran back to her safe spot. I know that it will take time, but soon she will learn like we did that there are a lot of good people out there that will love her and make her feel safe.

I am getting comfortable cuddling up on the big bed, especially when all the pups are up there. Check out this late night photo. I'm the one gazing into the camera.

Another favorite spot is to try and cuddle with Lilly under the bed, but she kinda growls a little. I guess that is her safe spot too. She's a puppy mill girl too. However, I am getting really good at sitting quietly and inching my way closer to her so we can touch and I can give her little kisses on her nose or even her ears. I do this with all the dogs here because I just want to love them and have them love me back.

Our foster cousins were here for a couple of weeks too and they brought their new bed for hanging out in the kitchen. Here I am trying to snuggle in with Ella but FM does not think she was too happy about it. She didn't kick me out, so that was good. I really like soft places when I sleep. It sure beats that icky place that we came from. FM says I am Living Large now. Not quite sure what that means, but this new life ROCKS!

Monday is a big day for Jewel as she is having her second surgery from our favorite surgeon Dr. R. We won't be able to wrestle again as she will be on restrictions while she heals. I will be close by on Monday hanging out with our good friend Joy 12-418 for the day. Joy's has a foster sister, Baylee, so this will be more fun than a barrel of monkeys. FM is hoping I will be super tired after that! Then FM and I will go pick up Jewel and bring her home for a quiet evening.

I am still patiently waiting to find my forever home, so if you think you would like to meet me, please contact your placement advisor. I won't be at any more Meet & Greets this month as the last two are out of town.

Kisses to all,

Ruby (Dora the Explorer)

Monday, February 11, 2013

Hi Everyone!  Dora the Explorer here reporting back in.  FM apologizes that it has been a while since my last update, but we keep her REALLY busy every night after work running in and out and playing around. We have lots of energy after resting all day.

A special Thank You to Judith C. for the Valentine Icon! Sending you a big sloppy kiss in return!

You are probably wondering how my healing is going.  Well, check out this picture!  I am now 4 weeks post op and my fur is filling in pretty nicely.  It still has a little ways to go.

I have a little gap in the front under my nose because I popped out one of the sutures.  Bummer, almost a perfect smile.  Dr. R. examined it and said it would just be cosmetic now and not functional or a health issue as my mouth is all covered.  We did not feel it was worth having to put me through another surgery and 6 weeks restrictions to correct it. So for now, we are just watching it to make sure the healing continues.

At our follow up appointment, we got some wonderful news from Dr. R.  We were freed from our leash restricted activity!  Whoo Hoo!  17 days of no running and nothing to chew on can really make a puppy go nuts, and nuts we were.  We had nowhere to go with our puppy energy and I think FM was going a bit nuts too.  However, we still can't chew any toys or bones for a few more weeks, so that is rough.

Two days later, we went to a Meet and Greet and got to meet a bunch of people and other dogs.  While we all had to stay on leashes, I did get to explore the store.  Oh what stories all the smells told me.  Then I got to have a sleep over again with my cat friend Snickers.  When I got back home on Sunday, Jewel and I had some major wrestling to do and wrestle we did.

This past week was back to normal with plenty of play opportunities in the snow.  Then last Saturday, we got to go with our foster-sister's 5th birthday party with her littermates and a bunch of other dogs.  We had such a blast!  There were 27 dogs there and we all ran and played for 2 hours until we were all tuckered out.

Here I am being the referee for a tug-o-war challenge between Joy 12-418 and my foster-sister's littermate Leia.  Leia won as she was able to pull Joy around the room because Joy was wearing her "Wheels".  It was so much fun.  

 

I can't believe how nice everyone was too.  I am getting some much more comfortable around people.  (Are people always that nice and fun? I sure hope so.)   After all of that excitement and activity, FM was hoping we would be really tired for rest of the night.  Here we are taking a power-nap on the couch.  Jewel is using me as a pillow.

While we did not sleep the whole evening, FM was thankful for the 90 minutes of calm. She had fun watching us act out some puppy dreams too.  Then it was time to go play in the snow. Oh how I love to play in the snow!  One of my most favorite things to do.

After a good night sleep, we were up again at 7:30am Sunday morning ready to play.  When FM had to run some errands in the afternoon, she told me to "Kennel UP" and guess what, I took her literally!  Check this out.  I just crack myself up.

 

Can I help it if the couch is just a short distance to the kennel?  I love to climb on things and still am being a little stinker in the counter surfing department.  A week ago, we were supposed to heading off to bed at midnight.  FM had left a tupperware container of chili on the counter cooling off and had run downstairs to turn of the computer.  Well, she heard a crash and it sounded like the babygate (ok, we knock it down a lot).  Well, when she came back upstairs, it looked like a crime scene with high velocity blood splatter.  The floor, cupboards, counters, appliances, window, blinds, and yup, even the ceiling, had chili all over!  Talk about cleanup on Aisles 1, 2, 3, 4.... Ha Ha.  There was even chunks of chili in my fur (saving it for a early morning nibble).  FM is pretty sure I was the one that pulled it off the counter.  It landed rightside up with such force it went in all directions.

But alas, my ill-gotten-booty was not as satisfying as I had hoped. Since there were onions in it, FM had to give us peroxide to make us "give-up-the-goods".  Yuck, I don't like that process.  But it worked.  Yep, I had eaten my share of chili before FM caught us.  Ah well, live to surf another day.

Well, those are my antics and updates for the past couple of weeks. I hope all my fans are enjoying all of the new snow.  I'll be back outside chasing snowballs all week!

Ruby

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FM here.  Ruby continues to do really well in fostercare.  Potty training is still a little bit of an issue when she is really excited and active, but she is improving overtime. Sometimes with puppymill dogs this just takes a little longer, but I am confident this will resolve.  She continues to ring the bells on the door to go out when she is upstairs and I am more diligent getting her outside frequently when she is active.  Overnight she does fine.

She is now more confident getting out of the crate in the car, especially if she sees the resident dogs on the ground.  With each new car experience (especially going somewhere fun), she improves.

She is up-to-date on vaccinations now that she has had her later booster and she is ready to meet her forever family.  Same requirements as before.  Physical fence, another confident dog over 30 pounds (oh does she love the boys...), and no kids under 10.   Contact your placement adviser if you are interested in meeting this very active sweetheart!

Thursday, January 17, 2013

Hi everyone! Ruby, aka Dora the Explorer, here to report back to you on the outcome of my plastic surgery.  My sister Jewel Thief and I tried to make a run for it during the pre-op appointment, but didn't make it.  Turns out that is a good thing.  But I was living up to my nickname and had to check everything out.  I was told we were going into a sterile environment and everyone had to wash their hands, but I just could not figure out how to wash my paws!

Anyways, I got into surgery and the totally awesome and super talented Dr. R did my lip correction, fixed an umbilical hernia and made it so I would not have puppies.  I am determined to stay active my whole life and keep my girlish figure!

So, here's the big reveal! The Extreme Makeover Rescue Edition of ME!  Ta-Da!  Will you just look at that correction!

Once the fur grows back, hopefully it will cover whatever possible scar I might have.  We will just have to wait and see but we are super hopeful!  And more good news is that Dr. R. thinks I won't need anymore surgery!  Totally fine with me, though those happy pills weren't so bad if you know what I mean!

I was a little out of it when FM picked Jewel and me up Monday night, but as soon as I saw my foster-sisters, my tail was a wagging!  It sure was nice to be home.  I had a little bite of dinner and some more happy pills and then Jewel and I cuddled up for the night.  By the next morning I was feeling pretty chipper and Jewel was doing much better too.  After some breakfast and a trip outside, we were back in the house for snuggling with FM.  A girl could really get used to all of this pampering!

We will get our sutures out in 14 days when we go back to see Dr. R.  After that, FM says I will be ready to look for my forever home.  I can't wait for new places to explore!

Until then, we are on leash and activity restrictions for SIX WEEKS.  We need plenty of time for our lips to heal properly and we can't be running around and wrestling.  And the biggest bummer is NO chewing on toys, bones, sticks or anything fun!  So I will have to put Dora on hold for a bit, but FM is sure that after restrictions are over, I'll be right back at it again and will make up for lost time.

Here's a pic of me in my Comfy Cone.  Pretty styling, huh!  I even glow in the dark! 

And a super special thank you to Josh B for the holiday icon and to the Pig Barn Crew of Taylor, Aspen, Peyton, Hayden, Caiden, Cameron, Peggy (FKA Dane) & Jayden for sponsoring us! and helping to pay for our surgeries! They came out of a bad situation 4 years ago this week and are now thriving in their new homes.

I'll keep you updated with a STIR CRAZY REPORT next week.

Love to all my fans,

Ruby

Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Hello there Ruby Fans! I hope everyone is doing great out there in RAGOMLAND.  I have a new sponsor, Marcia G. and my foster-cousins Pippi, Ella, and Macie.  Sending extra wet kisses your way!

I have a nickname and it is Dora the Explorer!  I am constantly on the go checking everything out and love, Love, LOVE to climb up and over stuff and test boundaries.  Ah, I love this house-living! Anything in the wood family, like the wicker-like storage cubes in the breezeway are very fun.  Really fun when I grab an edge and pull a row of the covering off and RUN with it.  Hey, I told FM I just made her a new hiding place between the top material and the foam underneath.  How can she get mad at that?!  I have thus lost ALL solo wandering privileges in the breezeway.  **Hrumpf**

We sure give our lunch-time buddy Amy L. and her dogs a run for their money.  On Monday, we knocked off a 7 foot piece of rain gutter and decided it would be fun to run around with it in the yard.  It was not fastened with screws, so whadda expect?  Too bad there is no video footage of that. I won't name names, but her initials are J-E-W-E-L and she just dares me to do things.  FM says that with us two, we total much more than the sum of our parts and are more like 5 puppies! 

I also have become talented in that I can carry Two slippers around at the same time.  FM also calls me Ruby Two Shoes.  Yep, I am definitely all retriever. And my foster sisters have taught me the fine art of retrieving tennis balls during Chuck-It Fest in the backyard!  Yup, I bring the ball back to FM and drop it at her feet.  How do you like that!  FM says my foster sisters are really good teachers.  I learn quickly from watching others.

You probably read Jewel's post about our outing last weekend at the RAGOM event.  Well, my story of the day is a little different than Jewel's. You see, FM thought it would be good to play "Pass the Puppy" so I got a lot of time on other people's laps.  Big thanks to Angie M., Karen H., Nikki F., and Kris N. for hanging with me and making me feel safe.  I even got to get down and walk amongst the other RAGOM fosters there. What a nice group of dogs we were!  I  got to explore the store with my buddy Karen too.  Another good confidence building activity for me and I really enjoyed it!

Here's me checking out the scene, wondering why all of the other dogs except Jewel and I are on the floor.  See how cool as a cucumber I am when held by one of my super-fans?!

Here I am walking amongst the other honored guests, stopping for a photo op.

At the event, a wonderful lady named Joan D. bought each of us a Lamb Chop stuffed toy and Jen E. gave us each a dog bed of our very own.  Here I am giving Lamb Chop a workout on the bed.

I am so thankful for all the love and kindness that people have shown to Jewel and me.  Now that I know people are good, I am starting to approach strangers and they are petting me and saying how cute I am.  I am really going to like this living with people gig.

And for a bonus the next day after the event, I got to go on my first walk around the block with one of my foster sisters.  I was wearing a harness and did really well walking.  OK, so I was kinda all over the place as the Dora in me took over, but I was brave (for the most part) as I encountered new stuff like parked cars, kids walking down the street and reading the pee-mail on sign posts. Let me tell you, lots of boys must be visiting those posts...

Also on my adventures I went to Chuck and Don's.  Everyone there was nice to me. I was a little afraid and was shaking a bit as I had to walk the floor on my own, but I got braver with my foster sister there to show me it was ok.  And we even got a couple of boxes of treats to take home from Jen.  And I spent a few minutes in the crate with the back hatch open watching the people come in and out of the stores and cars driving in the parking lot. I was very interested in that activity (from the safety of my crate that is). So all in all, a great outing!

I also have some great news to share and that is Jewel and I will be having our surgeries next Monday January 14!  We will be spayed at the same time.  We are excited to get our lips fixed and will continue to update you on our progress and post photos.  FM tells us to live it up now because after Monday, it will be leash restriction time as we heal up.  No wrestling or getting all crazy with the zoomies in the backyard.  It's gonna be rough on us!

Well, that's been my week.  I hope you are having a great week too!

Love to all my fans!

Ruby "Dora the Explorer"

=================================

FM here. Just a few quick notes to let you know a little more on her requirements.

Ruby will need another confident dog that can give her the appropriate corrections and be tolerant of her exuberant play style.  She is a quick learner and will become submissive and respects her "elders".  She loves to play chase and has plenty of energy to expend as any typical puppy.

Because she is a puppy mill dog, no kids under 10.  Sudden, fast movements will make her hesitate.  She is seeking out human attention now and even starting to approach strangers. Very incredible progress since coming into rescue just 4 weeks ago.

A fully enclosed fence is required for her safety.  It may take some time for her to develop good recall, but with proper positive training, we think she will do great as she is showing that she wants human attention.

She will need a family that will be diligent in watching her at all times so as to not get herself into trouble or chew inappropriate items.  She is so busy exploring her world and she will test EVERYTHING out.  

We are still working on housebreaking, just waiting for the day when it "clicks" in her brain that peeing in the house is not right.  However, in the crate overnight and during the workday, she has been keeping it clean and dry.  She has had accidents 2-3 times in the house this past week, so lots of improvement.

Thanks for following her story!

Monday, December 31, 2012

Hi to all my fans,

This is Ruby.  I was invited to a sleepover at another foster’s house (known as “rescue mom”).  You see, she was one of the people that rescued my sister (Jewel) and I and 28 other dogs on a very cold night 2 weeks ago.  Foster mom (FM) wanted to see how Ruby and I would do being apart, since we were so bonded.   Well, I think we did great!  I was so well behaved that I was invited to stay another night!  I do have typical puppy behaviors (as I am only 5 months old).  I love to explore and find anything to chew on and eat.   I especially like cloth items.  But in all fairness, anything I tried to chew and eat were dog items, soft toys, leashes, sticks, ceramic food dish etc.  It is just that I think I have to eat everything I chew.  I am a fast learner though.  I slept well in my crate both nights and did not have any accidents!   

Ruby is in the middle.  "Sammie, can you help me teach Snowie how to use this leash"

I enjoyed playing with the 3 resident dogs.  I think I wore them all out.  I would love my forever home to have a dog that enjoys playing as much as I do.  But the best part of all, was that I met the infamous RAGOM Cat Volunteer.  His name is Snickers and he is one of the several cats that also volunteer with RAGOM, to see if foster dogs will tolerate having a cat in their forever home.  Well, not only did I pass the “cat test”, Snickers is now my new friend.  I enjoyed following him around and playing with him.  He also let me lay with him.  If you have a cat, I would suggest it be a cat that enjoys dogs too. 

     

Snickers in Ruby's travel crate. "Can I go home with you Ruby?"  Ruby says "Snickers it looks like you are ready to go"

Ruby and her new friend, Snickers.

I am home at FM’s now, and time to take a nap. I haven’t decided if Jewel missed me or not yet.   She didn’t act super excited to see me come back, but we did have a good time playing, wrestling and chewing on bushes again in FM’s backyard.

Happy New Year to Everyone!

XXOO,

Ruby

 

Saturday, December 29, 2012

December 29, 2012

A Super Duper Thank You to Santa for telling his friends about me!  I now have a wonderful Sponsor named Gretchen S and her family - two-legged and four-legged!  I am sending you many puppy kisses!

Also a huge thank you to Sharron, Abby, Buddy, Jamie R, Zoey's parents and Judith C for the wonderful holiday icons.  Thank you all for your generosity to help with my medical bills to fix my lip.  I wish I could meet all of you!

We have also launched The Golden Smile Project to help raise money for our surgeries, so for those still looking somewhere to put their End of the Year Charitable Giving, this is an option!  You can follow this link.  http://ragom.org/shop/donat/golden-smile.html

Well, since Christmas, I have been a busy, busy girl. There are usually plenty of dogs here to run and play with.  Our foster sisters of course, and then we have 3 foster cousins too that come for to hang out and sleep-over.  And then we get to meet other great RAGOM dogs that come to visit and play along with their humans.  Check me out with beautiful boy Parker 12-254.  He is such a lover!  Congratulations to him as he had just found out he has a new family to adopt him!  I am happy for him but this was the last time I will get to see him.  Good luck on your new life and maybe I will see you at Goldzilla in September!

It has been fun having FM home this week from work, so we are getting tons of time outside romping along in the snow.  FM has to watch me as I like to grab an edge of exposed landscape fabric and rip it off and run around the yard.  Then Jewel will chase me round and round the yard. FM was thankful for the fresh batch of snow Friday morning and she shoveled a bunch on top of the exposed parts so I would leave those alone.  We will see about that!

I am getting much better at approaching humans now and am seeking out the attention.  I figure I have to get my share of love too, right? Most often I am watching FM's hand to see if there is a tasty morsel for me.   I am getting plenty of good food here and I must admit eating is one of my very favorite things.  After all, I did learn to sit super quick for a tasty treat!  Now I can "Sit" on command all the time.  Jewel still has not figured it out just yet.

I am working hard on potty training but have not gotten the hang of that just yet, so we will keep working on it.  Also in my routine is fetching in the backyard.  I bring it back sometimes, but I feel the object of the game is to get it and run and see who will chase me for it.  Somebody usually falls for that old trick!  More than half the time, Jewel Thief will run me down and take it from me, but now I distract her and then take it back! Ha, well see who gets the last laugh.

Tonight is a big night for me too.  I am going to have a sleep-over at Karen H.'s house.  FM wants to see how I do without Jewel since we have never been apart from each other.  I tell FM not to worry because I make new friends easily (that is the dog kind).  She has three puppies of her own so I will have someone to play with.  Check out the picture of me on the couch.  I have packed some toys in my backpack along with a chuck-it.  Now I just have to wait for Kelly B. to come pick me up for the ride to Karen's. 

I will be sure to report back with the 411 on how I did on my solo journey in my next update!

Love Ya!

Ruby

=========

FM here, just a quick note to let you know on the requirements for adopting sweet Ruby.  She and her sister Jewel 12-415 will be going to separate forever homes. We feel this will be the best for both of them so they can develop their own identities. Since both did not have the proper human socialization in their early lives, they are a bit shy of humans and totally comfortable with other dogs.

Ruby will need:

  • Another confident dog to learn how to trust people and learn the proper behaviors for living life indoors.  She likes to play rough so a medium (30 lbs+) or larger dog would be best. 
  • A physical fence to keep her safe as she develops recall.  
  • A patient family to teach her to trust people. It may be some time before she blossoms into a happy golden around people, but we see so much good potential in her because of the great progress she has made in the two weeks since coming into RAGOM.
  • A crate for potty training and a place to feel safe.  She is a work-in-progress in this area and is learning to ring the sleigh bells on the door, but when she is not in the kitchen, she has not made the connection that she needs to go there to get outside.

Ruby has not been cat tested yet, but will be this week.  She is a typical puppy in the chewing department so does need to be monitored full time if not crated. She has found that tearing out exposed landscape fabric and running around the yard with it in her mouth to be particularly hilarious!  And everything she passes by is an opportunity to pick it up and run with it.  She did bring FM a slipper, so she has the retriever gene indeed!  Miss Ruby is also a major counter-surfer that likes to see what is going on everywhere!

We will know better after her surgery in mid-January on when she will be available to go to her new home.

Thank you to everyone that is following Ruby & Jewel's story and for the kind thoughts, prayers and financial support for their surgeries.  They are all very much appreciated.