Introducing...Moose! Moose is a fantastic 5 year old purebred male who came to us from owners who could no longer spend enough time with him. They recognized that Moose was unhappy so they made the difficult but generous decision to surrender him to RAGOM so we can find him a home where he'll be more content. They want the best for dear Moose and we promised them that we're going to find him an absolutely perfect forever home. Which he deserves, because he's really something special!

I have so many good things to say about Moose that I hardly know where to start. He's really a great dog. I guess the first thing everyone needs to know is that he's HUGE. He's almost twice the size of our smallish male Golden. Moose weighs 100 lbs, which the vet thinks is a good weight for him. She didn't doubt that he's a purebred Golden but guessed that he must come from lines that have "bred big" or that have more Newfoundland in them. He does look a bit like a red Newfoundland, especially with his massive head. But he's a true gentle giant and handles his size with grace and caution. He's very careful about his relative position in space and he rarely bumps into people or things. Thanks, Moose!

In his previous home Moose was primarily an outdoor dog but he's thrilled to be inside now and has terrific house manners. He's adjusting really well to his new house and new routine and we've had absolutely no problems whatsoever. He's 100% housebroken, which is especially impressive considering that he's not neutered and came into a new home with a male dog. But even still, no marking at all. Good boy! We heard that he's prone to steal unattended food (easy to do since his head is level with the table and counters...he wouldn't even have to lift his feet) but we don't leave anything out and it hasn't been an issue. He's not destructive at all and doesn't pick up anything that doesn't belong to him, including our shoes or even tissues out of the wastebasket. Good boy! Moose is used to being on the furniture with his people and he LOVES to snuggle so he'll need to be allowed on the furniture in his forever home. He's an amazing cuddler, especially for a dog of his size. He slowly and gently squirms his way in until he's as close as he can get and then he buries his head in your arms and sighs the most contented sighs - it just melts my heart. He really is a 100 lb lap dog.

Moose is the one on the right... :-)

Moose gets along very well with other dogs and cats. He met our resident RAGOM boy and our three cats with polite enthusiasm and has been wonderful with them. Even our skittish cat thinks he's okay and is willing to walk right past him with no drama, which is unusual. Good job, Moose! I think our resident dog is a little disconcerted by Moose's size so he's been more standoff-ish than normal, but Moose accepts it with no problem and willingly takes his cues from Comet. He seems very good at reading another animals' signals and acting accordingly.

We don't have kids but in his previous life Moose lived with infants through teenagers and was reported to be great with all of them. He was surprisingly wary of our neighbor kids though and almost seemed a little afraid of them, but that could just be because he's not used to meeting new people outdoors. We'll try again in the house and see how it goes. Until then I'd say that older kids (perhaps 10+) who have experience with dogs are fine. We'll make a ruling on younger kids once we get to know him a little better.

Moose made an immediate trip to the vet to get up to date on shots and have a few things checked out and he was a fantastic patient. I wish all dogs were as good as him! He pranced right in with a big smile and thought the whole process was great. He got multiple shots, a microchip, and various uncomfortable blood draws and skin scrapings but as long as the staff gave him a kiss each time they hurt him his tail just kept wagging. Everyone was so impressed with him and kept commenting about what a nice boy he is. As the vet tech told him, "someone is going to be really lucky to adopt you!"

For the most part Moose got a clean bill of health from the vet - he doesn't have any yucky worms and his heartworm test was negative (hooray!). However he does have a few minor medical issues that will need to be cleared up before he can start looking for his forever home. First, he has the standard Golden Retriever double ear infection, which is easily treated with cleaning and drops. Second, his thyroid test was low so he started on a medication to bring it back up to normal. The low thyroid is actually good news because it explains the very poor condition of his coat and his low energy. He has the most dry, thin and brittle fur I've ever seen, and he sleeps a lot more than I would expect for a dog his age. So once his thyroid is back up to normal he should be shiny, beautiful and more energetic. The great thing is that thyroid problems are easy to fix and very simple to manage. He'll probably need to be on medication for the rest of his life but it's extremely inexpensive and very easy to administer - just toss a pill in with his breakfast and dinner and he's good to go. Third, Moose has a severe lick granuloma on his front leg. Lick granulomas are wounds and/or abnormal tissue that develop when a dog repeatedly licks the same spot, either from discomfort, boredom or anxiety. The vet didn't find any abnormal cells or other signs of pain or injury in his leg so she believes Moose's granuloma is "behavioral," meaning that something caused him to start licking and then it became a habit. Apparently it began more than a year ago and in that time the granuloma has grown very large and very ugly. I won't deny it - his leg is tough to look at if you're squeamish. But it doesn't seem to bother him and the great news is that the vet believes we can get it healed fairly easily. She prescribed a topical steroid that we apply three times per day and hopefully that will take care of it. The other good thing is that we haven't seen him lick it at all since he's been with us so hopefully whatever problem causes him to lick is perhaps solved in his new environment.

Moose goes back to the vet in a few weeks for re-checks of his thyroid and legs and to be neutered so he won't be available for adoption until then. We aren't going to make any decisions about what he'll need in his forever home until he's feeling better and we can see what the "real" Moose is like. Even though he's so sweet and good he's definitely not at his best right now so we want to wait and see what his energy level and personality are like when he's healthier and more comfortable. He's already as sweet as pie so I'm sure he's only going to be even better. Please check back for more as we progress through our very own "Extreme Makeover - Moose Edition" and watch for the beautiful, healthy, energetic Moose to emerge!