Goldie says "Happy Earth Day"! She went to the vet today and did superbly. Her heartworm and fecal samples were negative-which is great. She does need to lose about 5-6 pounds to be at her ideal weight. On Sunday, she came in with a yeast infection in her paw which is being treated with antibiotics and the vet said it was clearing up nicely. We have about another week on that and it should be all gone. Other than those couple of things, she looks very healthy.

There are a couple of things that I have figured out about Goldie.

1. She is housebroken, and has yet to have an accident in the house.
2. She will definitely NEED a fence. It turns out she is a bit of a bolter. I found out the hard way last night. She snuck passed me as I was trying to put the lead on her to go out to use the bathroom. I proceeded to run (and I mean run) through the neighbors backyard. I quickly realized that wasn't going to work, so I turned around in hopes that she would chase me. She did and I was able to get her back safe into the house. Lesson learned there!
3. She knows very few commands, if any, so we are starting with the basics (sit, down, stay, okay). She will need a family that is committed to taking her to obedience training and possibly a few sets of classes. She needs to learn the basic commands to help keep her safe.
4. Cats are probably okay. I tested Goldie with the cat at the vet's office and she was curious, but didn't go crazy over it. She also just kind of stares with inquiry at the cat next door. For those reasons, I think she could go into a house with a cat. As for dogs, she reads dog signs very well. In our house, our resident backs down, so Goldie just feels like she can just take toys that may not belong to her. We are working on the sharing of toys between the dogs. She also doesn't like to give them up, so we are working on "drop it". I don't know how she would react to a more strong-willed dog, if she would back down or not.
5. Crates are a work in progress. Although she doesn't particularly like the crate, once she is in there, she is fine. RAGOM was told that she has some separation anxiety, but does well once in the crate. She does whimper a bit when I first put her in the crate to go to work. A house where she doesn't have to be alone for an entire work day would probably be best for her. We (Goldie and FM) have started getting her more comfortable in the crate by using one that does not have the top. I have attached a picture that shows our "training". She does go in, gets some snuggle time with me, then turns on out. It will take some time for her to feel comfortable for extended periods of time.
6. She will make a great family dog. She has met the neighbor kids and did wonderfully. She is kind of strong, so kids around 7 and older would probably be best. If a child holding Goldie lost control of a leash, she could bolt and wouldn't know a command to come back.
7. Lastly, she has this crazy greeting. When someone first meets her or when we come home from work, she snarles her snout. It looks very scary, but she is actually smiling. She is wagging her tail and bowing down her head as she says "hello" to you. It is so cute. A picture would never do it justice. You have to see it to appreciate it. Would you like to see it? If so, contact your placement advisor.