Sophie (Cowgirl 08-401)

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Cowgirl rode into town yesterday and man what a sweetie! She is around 12 years old, but aside from her teeth you would never know it. We don't know much about our sweet Cowgirl, but we do know she wandered onto the property of some Good Samaritans about two months ago. She has been living in their yard since then, but because of allergies in the family they couldn't keep her. So she came here to the big bad city and is hanging out with us until she finds her furever home.

We had our trip to the vet this morning and everything checked out great. She does need to get a benign lump removed from her foot, but other than that she is up to date on shots, spayed, and microchipped. This cutie is petite, she weighed in at a whopping 41.5 pounds. She does have a little bit of arthritis in her hips but it doesn't bother her much. We did also find out that she is deaf. She really can't hear anything. So we're working on training on hand commands.

Cowgirl really doesn't act like she's twelve at all. In the house and in the fenced in yard she just moseys around, but when you put the leash on her collar watch out! She turns into a 3 year old. She loves to prance around with her head held high. She can make it about a 1.5 miles before she gets tired. That's not bad for 12!

She's great with dogs and kids, we haven't exposed her to cats yet, but she does have a pretty high prey drive so I'm not sure she would be the best choice for a family with cats.

For now we're just hanging out and giving her plenty of hugs and kisses. Stay tuned for more and to see how her training progress is coming.

   

At a Glance #08-401

Golden Retriever Born: August 1998
Female Weight not specified

Status: Deceased

Profile

Cowgirl rode into town yesterday and man what a sweetie! She is around 12 years old, but aside from her teeth you would never know it. We don't know much about our sweet Cowgirl, but we do know she wandered onto the property of some Good Samaritans about two months ago. She has been living in their yard since then, but because of allergies in the family they couldn't keep her. So she came here to the big bad city and is hanging out with us until she finds her furever home.

We had our trip to the vet this morning and everything checked out great. She does need to get a benign lump removed from her foot, but other than that she is up to date on shots, spayed, and microchipped. This cutie is petite, she weighed in at a whopping 41.5 pounds. She does have a little bit of arthritis in her hips but it doesn't bother her much. We did also find out that she is deaf. She really can't hear anything. So we're working on training on hand commands.

Cowgirl really doesn't act like she's twelve at all. In the house and in the fenced in yard she just moseys around, but when you put the leash on her collar watch out! She turns into a 3 year old. She loves to prance around with her head held high. She can make it about a 1.5 miles before she gets tired. That's not bad for 12!

She's great with dogs and kids, we haven't exposed her to cats yet, but she does have a pretty high prey drive so I'm not sure she would be the best choice for a family with cats.

For now we're just hanging out and giving her plenty of hugs and kisses. Stay tuned for more and to see how her training progress is coming.

   

Updates

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

 

Cowgirl (who we renamed Sophie) came into our family last November, 2008. She was a very sweet and gentle soul who (we think) has been deaf since birth. Despite that handicap, she loved everyone and lived with a grace and gentleness befitting a Queen. I thought that Sophie deserved some friends so I decided to volunteer to foster for RAGOM. During the past six months, Sophie has had many new friends - Charley, Polly, Sadie, Neighbor, Macy, Duci (Zoe), Sierra and Lucy. She has been a friend to all of them and they have loved her in return.

On August 21st at her regular checkup, Sophie was diagnosed with hemoblastoma - cancer of the blood. Her spleen was enlarged and she had lost a pound since April when we were in last. In the next 10 days, the decline was very rapid. She quit eating and (we discovered later) had lost another 2 1/2 pounds. On Monday, I made the very difficult decision that it was time for Sophie to cross the Rainbow Bridge. Better to cross with dignity befitting a Queen - under her own power.

Monday morning when I went to wake her for our last walk together, I discovered her smiling in her sleep - a sweet angelic smile. We all (Zoe, Lucy, Sophie and I) took our last walk together along the golf course. Sophie said goodbye to her friends and we went to see Dr. Levy to begin her journey. Thank you to Whole Health Veterinary and Dr. Levy for helping Sophie go to the bridge with dignity.

We miss her greatly. Have fun at the bridge Sophie - running, jumping, chasing bunnies and HEARING all that the world has to offer. We love you! Thank you for bringing your beautiful spirit and gentle soul into our lives.

Sue, Chris and all your four legged friends.

 

Sunday, May 3, 2009

From Sophie's (formerly known as Cowgirl) forever family...

In November 2008 I adopted Cowgirl and renamed her Sophie. I hadn't had a dog in 9 years and I really missed having them around. Sophie fit right into my life and has added so much. She is a sweet girl who gets along with everyone. My piano students love her and so do the other dogs I've fostered. Yes, since adopting Sophie I decided that fostering other RAGOM dogs would be a way to pass along the gift I've received with Sophie. She has taught the other fosters lots of things (including how to drink out of the toilet). Our fosters have included Charley (09-077), Polly (08-581), Liam (08-590) and currently Sadie Rose (09-155). She is a beautiful dog and much different than the poor dog that wandered into someone's backyard smelling like cowpies. We love you Sophie!
 

Monday, November 10, 2008

Foster mom here - My sweet Cowgirl went to her forever home on Saturday and by all accounts is adjusting just great and loving her new home. Of course being the chatty girl that she is, she emailed me last night to tell me how excited she is in her new home. Thought everyone would like to hear how she's doing. Have fun sweet girl and we'll miss you here.

Hi Fans! Cowgirl here - now I'm called Sophie. I moved in with my forever family last night and we have had a great time getting to know each other. I survived the ride home (whew - I still don't like cars much). Then I had to ride in this funny box with a silver door - that was weird. Everytime I go outside we ride in it. I think it's called an elevator and I think I finally figured out that the silver part is the way out. I was sniffing the back wall trying to get it to open but that didn't work. It doesn't stress me out but it's weird. I slept all night in my great new big squishy dog bed. Then I went out for a walk this morning - WOW - does my new mom have a HUGE backyard - complete with big kitty litter boxes (they are called sandtraps - we live by the golf course - HA HA). There are lots of places to walk and I smelled all sorts of animals - maybe deer, raccoons and other dogs and those cat things. THEN the fun started - all morning KIDS came to pet me. I could really get used to this. And they were such good kids - they did exactly what my new mom told them to do - Sit, Play Piano, Practice - like that. I think she's the alpha dog. But they all thought I was the coolest dog ever and even the boy who said he didn't like dogs - petted me for a whole half hour. Ahhhhhhhh. He was pretty funny - he tried to communicate with me by telepathy since he knows I can't hear. Then I laid by the piano and put my ear up on it to see if I could hear - like that guy Beethoven. My mom took a picture of me listening.

Well time to sack out in my bed. Life is great here!

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

I'm sorry that it has been so long, these humans here have been keeping me SO busy! Or rather, I'm keeping THEM so busy. :) First we went to this awesome place in the woods to hang out with my foster grandpa for awhile and boy was that fun. There were tons of woods and lakes and streams to play in and animals to chase and there were two other dogs there to play with. One of them was older like me and we laid together like old ladies a couple times. Then there was this big party with tons of people at the cabin and you know what they served?? Mini HOT DOGS! My favorite! I made sure to look my cutest so all the guests would share. Hehe. Then we came home from that weekend and I decided I was on a strike from dog food. So it took FM awhile to finally figure out how to get me to eat. It turns out that Chuck and Don's donated a bunch of wet food that I am in LOVE with. (FM's note: It stinks. Bad) It's salmon and super yummy. I also spent some time at PetCo where I met a ton of you guys and everyone said I was super pretty! I even got to meet my mom's friend and fellow volunteer Holly who came all the way up from Iowa to meet me. Well, ok maybe not JUST to meet me.... :)

Now for the BEST news of all! I am officially adoption pending!!!! A nice woman met me last night and wants me to come live with her and her son and be their best friend. How can a girl like me pass up an offer like that? Don't worry I will post one last goodbye before I get officially moved to the Adopted Dogs page.

Thursday, October 2, 2008

It's official. I'm on strike. I'm striking from ever going to the vet again. I hate that place. I spent TWO days there this week. FM is such a worrywart. Now I suppose you'll want to know what they said. Turns out all that fuss for nothing. Yeah! I just have old lady tremors. Basically it just means that I have 4-6 second muscle tremors 5-10 times a day. They don't really bother me and they don't hurt. There's no treatment and life just continues as usual. That's the good news. The bad news (for me anyway) is that I gained two pounds so now I don't get homemade dog food anymore. Boo! I finally have Cody convinced that it's better to snuggle at night then to sleep alone. I like to cuddle. I've been working on walking in a straight line with FD and we're still working on learning to like that dreaded car. So far we haven't been that successful. Oh well. A girl can't be good at everything I suppose.

FM told me yesterday that we're going to Doggie Palooza this weekend. Yeah! That means I'll get to meet my forever family. *Hint Hint* :) Unfortunately this also means that we're going to have a bath day. Yuck. FM puts Cody and I in the bath together because we comfort each other. We still don't like it. But we have learned to use our cute faces to convince our FD to feed us treats when FM is torturing us with the water.

FD and I had a photo shoot in the backyard yesterday, so check out my model shots!

Send a note to placementatragom [dot] org if you want to meet us and I'll see you at Doggie Palooza starting at 12:30p on Saturday.

   

 

Sunday, September 21, 2008

Man, have I been busy since I last talked to you guys. On Thursday I went to the vet to check on my stitches and they said I need to gain 5 pounds! That's music to my ears. That means I get all kinds of yummy treats in my dinner. Cody's been pouting because he's on a diet and doesn't get anything special. Hehe!

Saturday we went to the RAGOM picnic and holy cow was that crazy! There were so many dogs and people there that I was overwhelmed for a bit. But don't worry, I got over it in time to meet my many adoring fans. There were so many people who wanted to meet me that my mom didn't even get to finish her lunch. That's ok though, I took her out for dinner to make it up to her :)

Then Sunday I showed FM how smart I am. I showed her how I can push the foot pedal on the trash can with my feet and reach just high enough into the trash for a snack. Now she puts something heavy on top to ruin my fun. Boo!

I've been working really hard on liking the car, but we've still got some work to do. FM tried me in a crate to see if I liked it better, but it made my anxiety worse. It's better when Cody is in the car, but I still shake pretty bad.

One of those silly cats came into my yard yesterday and I chased it across the yard until it climbed the fence. So I think I would do best without cats in my house.

I'm posting a picture of me and Cody sharing a bed. He didn't want to but I used my "elder status" to trump him. Send a note to placementatragom [dot] org if you want to meet me. I love visitors! Especially when the scratch my ears.

Sunday, September 14, 2008

Wow am I tired! I spent yesterday at the Plymouth PetSmart and had a lot of fun. Then Cody and I got into a little bit of trouble (totally not my idea) and FM made us go into our crates. Boo. But then I got to go on a long walk with my foster grandma (love her!) and we made it 3 miles! She says that's not bad for a couple of old ladies. Well I had my surgery on Friday and I must say those drugs they give you are a doozy. Cody made fun of me because I stood in the hallway and stared at the wall for 2 hours. I couldn't help it, sheesh, way to kick a gal when she's down. I had some teeth pulled and I'm feeling a TON better and am eating harder food now. I sure had a lot of fun meeting people yesterday at PetSmart. I met a really nice family who might want me forever! How cool is that?!?! But I have to pass a cat test first (anyone know what that is?) so wish me luck. I'm meeting them tomorrow.

I suppose I should confess the trouble Cody and I got into. The little sneak did it (I swear) and I just got dragged along for the ride. I mean if the garbage is all over the floor you may as well take part right? :) No need to pass up a good thing if it lands in your lap, I always say. FM says that I should add a few more things to this bio that tells you a little bit about me. Here goes:

  • I walk really well on a leash and I LOVE to walk. I go 2 miles almost everyday. I get antsy when I don't get to walk.
  • I don't really like to swim. Why be wet when you can be dry?
  • I'm good with other dogs unless they get in my face. Then I politely tell them that they should look for a good time elsewhere.
  • I take treats with a really gentle mouth.
  • I love kids.
  • I'm sort of getting the sign language thing down. My furever family will have to continue to work with me on that.
  • I don't really care to get on the furniture.
  • I'm really kind of small. Everyone at PetSmart said that they thought I was SO much bigger in my pictures and they were surprised I was so small. FM calls me the pocket golden.

Ok I think that's it! I'll keep you posted about the whole cat test thing. I'm sending some new photos of the garbage disaster and of me being cute. It is what I do best.

Send placementatragom [dot] org a note if you want to meet me.

   

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

FM here... I thought it was time I took the keyboard back from Cowgirl to give you my thoughts on this sweet thing. She really is 40 pounds of pure Golden love. She is the perfect mix of senior and teenage dog. On one hand she loves nothing better than to snuggle with you and is always looking for loving pets, but on the other hand this girl sure knows how to have fun. When I get home from work and let the dogs out she does a quick zoomie lap around the yard and then likes to play catch me! She runs as fast as she can at me and then veers away at the last minute and wants you to "catch" her. It's the cutest thing. We've finally settled on a food combo that works for her. She's been kind of picky about her kibble, but I also suspect it's due to her teeth. I believe that she has some rotten ones in the back. The vet will take them out when she has her foot surgery on Friday. The growth on her foot is benign (whew!) but is such a pain for her we're having it removed. No big deal.

This sweet girl is ready for a family and would make the best dog for almost anyone. She gets along fine with kids, but I would prefer a family without a lot of little kids because she does have slight arthritis and I worry it will get worse with age. Please don't think of her as a senior, she doesn't act like it and we all know that she certainly doesn't think she is. If she had opposable thumbs I'm sure she would thumb her nose at the very suggestion that she is. I'm attaching some photos of Cowgirl doing her favorite thing, staring out the glass door and stalking the squirrels.

Cowgirl and I will be at the Plymouth PetSmart this Saturday, September 13th, starting at 11:30AM and will be there as long as she can handle it. She will have just come out of surgery on Friday afternoon so it all depends on how the princess is feeling.

   

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

Wow have I been busy this week! I've been learning lots of new stuff and you know what? Nothing is really as scary as I thought it was at first. That's pretty awesome. FM didn't have to work on Thursday so she took me and my foster brother to the dog park. I wasn't so sure about that at first, but little did I know that there is a whole group of 2-legged retirees that hang out at the dog park on Thursday afternoons! That meant 20 people to hug and cuddle with. We seniors have to stick together you know. Who cares about socialization with other dogs when there are pets to be had? FM has also been taking me on lots and lots and lots of car rides so I don't get scared as much anymore about that whole car thing. It probably helps that I get treats too. ;) Then we went to visit my foster grandma at her cabin and I showed mom that in no uncertain terms I did NOT care for the water. So if you are looking for a water dog then I'm afraid you'll just have to keep looking, because that ain't me. Oh! I almost forgot! FM took me to the beauty salon and I got a full haircut and a pedicure. Now I'm pretty as a picture.

Since it was so hot today I spent the afternoon thinking about what I would like in my furever home. Here is my list:

  • A house with a fenced in yard or someone to train me to stay in my yard. I like nothing better than to lay in the dirt of the garden all day long if you let me.
  • No cats. I just find them too tempting to resist.
  • Another dog is fine, but I'm fine without it too.
  • Someone who is willing to work with me on my sign language commands. (I must confess I'm a bit of a slow learner. Although not for lack of trying.)
  • Kids over 7 or so. My hips are a little arthritic and might get older with age, so I don't really want anyone who will hang on me.
  • A place with lots of treats! :)

I'm going in for surgery on my foot next week so wish me luck! If you want a cuddly, laid back, but oh-so-cute Golden love bug in your life, hit up placementatragom [dot] org and they'll get in touch with my foster mom. She's my chauffeur you know. Here's some new pictures of me after my haircut!