Suzie 07-255

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Sponsored by: Stan and Betty Hunecke 

On Saturday April 28th an extremely frightened girl took a big step to a better life.  Suzie made a very long trip up from MO to MN.  When I first met her at the Golden Valley Humane Society she was doing circles in her crate.  She shied away from me or any human, for that matter, who came near her crate.  When another one of her fellow MO puppy mill rescue dogs crates was placed next to her, she stopped circling and moved towards the dog and started to wag her tail.  

In that moment I saw her spirit and knew that with time, patience, and love this little girl was going to be all right.  She was extremely gentle and allowed herself to be handled during the vetting and bathing.  She just kind of froze in place and offered no resistance. She had sores on three of her paws and was given meds which she takes easily.  She was quiet during the car ride home and needed a lot of assistance getting out of the car.  She crouched down on the garage floor and needed to be carried outside to the back yard.  Her leash frightens her.  She tried to bolt away but when she came to the end of the lease she rolled her eyes in fear.  I carried her into the house to show her where her crate was.  She wasn’t ready for a grand tour of the house yet.  When I set her down on the floor she saw Daisey 07-177 and made a bee line for her.  She barged her way into Daisey’s crate and buried her head under Daisey’s butt.  Daisey just looked up at me with compassion, gave her a puppy kiss and settled in for the night. 

Since then Daisey a retired puppy mill mom, has taken it upon herself to show Suzie the ropes.  She is teaching her important things like going through doors to get outside, maneuvering steps, playing with toys, and how wonderful getting attention from humans can be.  Suzie is good about going outside, but still needs a lot of assistance getting back in the house.  She is doing the big four--eating, drinking, peeing, and pooping--and has done so from the start.  And good news, no accidents in the house!  Not a single one.  For a nine month old pup that’s never been in a house before, this is amazing!   

Every day I spend some quiet time with Suzie giving her attention.  At this point it usually involves her lying next to me while I pet her and rub her belly while watching TV.   I didn’t realize how much she enjoyed this until yesterday.  I was sitting on the couch with Daisey laid out next to me (yes, I am one of those awful pet people that allows their animals on the furniture) when Suzie cautiously made her way into the living room.  The next thing I knew she had jumped up on the couch with Daisey and me and burrowed her way in between us. Well, Daisey’s tail started to wag and I got puppy kisses and just about started to cry I was so happy.  Suzie is making such huge strides in the short week she has been here.   

Suzie is still a little camera shy.  We are working on getting better picture.  So keep posted.

 

 

At a Glance #07-255

Golden Retriever Born: April 2006
Female Weight not specified

Status: Deceased

Profile

Sponsored by: Stan and Betty Hunecke 

On Saturday April 28th an extremely frightened girl took a big step to a better life.  Suzie made a very long trip up from MO to MN.  When I first met her at the Golden Valley Humane Society she was doing circles in her crate.  She shied away from me or any human, for that matter, who came near her crate.  When another one of her fellow MO puppy mill rescue dogs crates was placed next to her, she stopped circling and moved towards the dog and started to wag her tail.  

In that moment I saw her spirit and knew that with time, patience, and love this little girl was going to be all right.  She was extremely gentle and allowed herself to be handled during the vetting and bathing.  She just kind of froze in place and offered no resistance. She had sores on three of her paws and was given meds which she takes easily.  She was quiet during the car ride home and needed a lot of assistance getting out of the car.  She crouched down on the garage floor and needed to be carried outside to the back yard.  Her leash frightens her.  She tried to bolt away but when she came to the end of the lease she rolled her eyes in fear.  I carried her into the house to show her where her crate was.  She wasn’t ready for a grand tour of the house yet.  When I set her down on the floor she saw Daisey 07-177 and made a bee line for her.  She barged her way into Daisey’s crate and buried her head under Daisey’s butt.  Daisey just looked up at me with compassion, gave her a puppy kiss and settled in for the night. 

Since then Daisey a retired puppy mill mom, has taken it upon herself to show Suzie the ropes.  She is teaching her important things like going through doors to get outside, maneuvering steps, playing with toys, and how wonderful getting attention from humans can be.  Suzie is good about going outside, but still needs a lot of assistance getting back in the house.  She is doing the big four--eating, drinking, peeing, and pooping--and has done so from the start.  And good news, no accidents in the house!  Not a single one.  For a nine month old pup that’s never been in a house before, this is amazing!   

Every day I spend some quiet time with Suzie giving her attention.  At this point it usually involves her lying next to me while I pet her and rub her belly while watching TV.   I didn’t realize how much she enjoyed this until yesterday.  I was sitting on the couch with Daisey laid out next to me (yes, I am one of those awful pet people that allows their animals on the furniture) when Suzie cautiously made her way into the living room.  The next thing I knew she had jumped up on the couch with Daisey and me and burrowed her way in between us. Well, Daisey’s tail started to wag and I got puppy kisses and just about started to cry I was so happy.  Suzie is making such huge strides in the short week she has been here.   

Suzie is still a little camera shy.  We are working on getting better picture.  So keep posted.

 

 

Updates

Sunday, January 27, 2008

Our house seems so empty today. It is amazing how one gentle, quiet girl can so touch your heart. I am very, very pleased to be able to announce that Suzie has found her forever home. It was with much pride and some surprise, that I watched her confidently walk around her new home, meet her new mom and her new fur brother. She's really come a long way from the very, very scared girl that we first met. She's still skittish and will take some time to relax and trust, but she's got all the time in the world in front of her and now she has a gentle, patient, loving forever mom to help her. And as an additional plus, adoptive mom is a RAGOM volunteer, and we'll be able to keep in touch and hear how she's doing for many years to come.

I had to laugh when I read Suzie's e-mail to me last night. Number 8 about Duke and my little Suzie letting him know that she's not a total pushover. Duke is a very big Golden Retriever weighing in at 130 pounds. My Suzie, is a very petite female weighing in at only 47 pounds. But she's already let him know, she is a female dog and as such, she gets to rule the house, not him. And in gentlemanly fashion, he listened and agreed. I have no doubt that she will continue to grow and blossom in her new home.

Thank you so much to all who have helped Suzie move from her puppy mill home in Missouri to her new forever home in northern Wisconsin. To all of those who worried and helped try to find her when she was running loose last spring, to her sponsors who have followed her story for so long and supported us financially, and most of all to her first foster mom who took her in, loved her, showed her what it meant to be treated gently by a human and started her on her road to a happy life.

Dear Foster Moms,

This morning Foster Mom Konnie, a friend of hers from RAGOM, and Allie, my good friend and support dog, all piled in the car with me and we drove to Superior, WI to meet my new Forever Mom Marjorie. I also met my new brother Duke who was adopted from RAGOM in March 2003, and my sister Portia the Cat. And I have a human Uncle John and Aunt Susan.

This is what I've done so far:

1. Had a nap on the love seat
2. Had a nap on the couch
3. Had a nap on my new Mom's bed
4. Ran around the "Rompage" (fenced backyard) on a good long leash. I can run really fast! Bailey, the nice dog across the alley, kept trying to ask my name. Other dogs up and down the neighborhood was happy to hear there was a new girl on the block. They wanted to know my name, too, but I didn't say a word!
5. Ate supper from my very own bowl. Thank you, FM Konnie, for bringing me a bag of dog food to get me started right.
6. Snuggled with all my new humans. (FM Konnie, I will miss you but I'm liking it here so far.)
7. When I was sitting by my Mom, Duke came over for some petting and I climbed right in Mom's lap so I could be closest to her.
8. When Duke got a little too friendly, I bared my pretty white teeth and he understood.
9. Took my antibiotics with peanut butter.
10. Had a few pieces of my favorite hot dogs. I also have a nylabone and my very own kong but Mom is going to wait to give those to me in a couple of days.
11. Thought about all the love I was shown by my foster families since I came from Missouri in April, and how different my life would have been if they hadn't loved me so much.
12. Thought about how wonderful it was that Stan and Betty Hunecke sponsored me, and how much other dogs like me need sponsors. Thank you, Stan and Betty!
13. Set up my own email account so I can keep in touch with my old friends.
14. Asked Mom to take some pictures so they can see how cute I am and what a handsome boy Duke is. And, boy, is he BIG!

Thank you again to everyone who rescued me and loved me and made sure I could have a good life.

Love, Suzie

 

 

Tuesday, January 8, 2008

I am so proud of our Suzie.  She went to the PetsMart event on Saturday and wasn't nearly as scared this time.  I took along, Allie, my 7 year old golden retriever and Suzie's friend as her support dog.  Either that really helped, or she's just doing better.  She loved having visitors and would climb right up on people's laps if they were willing, or even if they weren't.  She loves to cuddle.  And when we left, she jumped right in the car all by herself.  Previously, she would get scared when we got by the car and I opened the door and I would have to lift her in.  This time, up she hopped.  Such a good girl!  There is just nothing quite as rewarding as watching these shy dogs blossom.  Something that you wouldn't think a thing about if a normal dog does it, brings smiles and tears to you when a shy dog does it.  She's also been going in and out of the door at home much better.  We still leave a long lightweight rope on her just because it's winter and if she does decide she doesn't want to come back in, it's too cold to leave the door open for her to take her time.  But lately, she just runs right in with the other dogs.  We have discovered that she is a poop eater, not unusual for a puppy mill dog, actually not unusual for a lot of dogs, particularly in the winter.  Nevertheless, a somewhat disgusting habit to humans, but normal for dogs.  She's a 1-year old, beautiful, healthy, female that is very ready to find her new forever home.  There is no reason that this young girl continues to be in foster care.  Some lucky family that wants to help her will be rewarded many times over.  She's the nicest dog.

Suzie would like to send a big hug (she's so good at that) and lots of doggy kisses (she's also really good at that) to her wonderful sponsors for helping her.

Tuesday, September 4, 2007


I hate to have my picture taken. My foster mom has tried several times to take good pictures of me for my Web page. Sometimes she has tried to catch me unaware like in this picture in which I am lounging on the couch with Daisey 07-177 when she came to visit a few weeks ago. I’m the one in the front laying on top of my foster parent.


My foster mom is the first to admit she is not very good at taking photographs, but really, it is very easy to elude her efforts. Take the picture above. By the time she lines the shot up and takes the picture I have run way out of the view of the camera.


Of course she is patient and keeps trying. She is getting a little faster. Don’t I have a really pretty tail?

Finally she catches me when I am so caught up in play that I don’t know she is taking a picture. Here I am playing with a stick. Sometimes I will take a stick or a ball and...

...bring it to my foster mom. I’m not brave enough to hand it to her so I drop it at her feet. OK, OK already, enough with that camera. Can’t you see I just want to play with Baxter? That white spot on the bottom of the picture is his behind. I use to be scared of that thing lying on the ground behind me. But now I am very brave and just ignore it.

 

Finally I decide to make her happy. SMILE!