Sammy 05-260

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9/4/05: Sammy is a sweet, 9 year old Golden-Collie mix. She was surrendered to the Humane Society because her family was moving and didn?t want to take her. The Humane Society called RAGOM and asked if we could help this girl. The only information her surrendering family provided was that Sammy lived with small children and another dog and did great with them.

We picked Sammy up from the Humane Society and she jumped right up into the SUV. We had some stops to make before bringing her home and she was content to ride around and just be near us. When she got to her foster home, she met the two resident dogs without any problems. We now have a house with three Golden mixes ? a Golden-Eskimo, Golden-Shepherd, and now a Golden-Collie. Sammy fits right in. She had most of her shots and her heartworm test (negative) done at the Humane Society. She still needs some blood work done due to her senior status. Her beautiful fur has not been taken care of and she is full of mats that will need to be shaved off. Sammy looks like a fuzzy Golden with some white on her face.

Sammy

At a Glance #05-260

Breed not specified Born: March 2007
Female Weight not specified

Status: Deceased

Profile

9/4/05: Sammy is a sweet, 9 year old Golden-Collie mix. She was surrendered to the Humane Society because her family was moving and didn?t want to take her. The Humane Society called RAGOM and asked if we could help this girl. The only information her surrendering family provided was that Sammy lived with small children and another dog and did great with them.

We picked Sammy up from the Humane Society and she jumped right up into the SUV. We had some stops to make before bringing her home and she was content to ride around and just be near us. When she got to her foster home, she met the two resident dogs without any problems. We now have a house with three Golden mixes ? a Golden-Eskimo, Golden-Shepherd, and now a Golden-Collie. Sammy fits right in. She had most of her shots and her heartworm test (negative) done at the Humane Society. She still needs some blood work done due to her senior status. Her beautiful fur has not been taken care of and she is full of mats that will need to be shaved off. Sammy looks like a fuzzy Golden with some white on her face.

Sammy

Updates

Monday, March 6, 2006

I can't believe that we have been fostering Sammy now for six months. I thought this might be a good time to give a recap of what we have learned about Sammy. She is now 10 years old. Sammy seems much more comfortable around the resident dogs than when she first came to us. She is not trying to herd the other dogs as much, since she has figured out that they do not really like this "game". Sammy is still growly with the other dogs if they start playing near her and she doesn't want to play. She sounds a little like a mother scolding her unruly children. So, I still think that she would do best with older dogs or ones that will leave her alone most of the time. Although she likes having her own space, she does enjoy snuggling with the other dogs. Sammy will also join the dogs in a chase around the backyard. Other than being a bit crabby around younger dogs, Sammy gets along really well with other dogs. She ignores dogs on her walks and greets new dogs very nicely. She has not lived with cats or small animals, so I don't know how she would react around them.

I have been cleaning Sammy's ears once a week and so far she has not gotten any more ear infections. She needs to be brushed at least twice a week. She has very fine fur and it mats easily if it is not taken care of. Sammy knows some basic commands and we are currently working on "stay" and "come". She has been trying out the toys in her foster home and only likes tennis balls. I have seen her occasionally pick up a chew toy and carry it around. Sammy will sometimes take a nap on one of the dog beds, but generally prefers the floor. She sleeps at the foot of the bed or across the doorway of the bedroom at night. Sammy is a really good watch dog. She is always the first of the three dogs to hear a noise outside and bark. She quiets down right away and does not bark excessively. She is also very quiet outside in the fenced yard. Sammy's behavior in the house is perfect. She even stays off the furniture without being told. She is a wonderful companion and loves going with you in the car whenever possible. Sammy loves the simple things in life and would like to find a quiet forever home.

Sammy is on medication for arthritis. Her joints seem to be a little stiffer now during the winter. She is still doing fine climbing stairs and jumping into cars. Sammy’s main difficulty is standing up after lying down. She also slips easily on hard floors, but does fine if you add a few more rugs. Sammy is also taking medication for urinary incontinence. All of her pills are chewable and she takes them nicely. She continues to do better and better each week and her medication can be adjusted if needed. Sammy will be at the Maple Grove PetCo on Saturday if you would like to meet this sweet senior girl.

Monday, December 19, 2005

Sammy is still doing great. She likes to lay in the snow and chase the other dogs around the backyard. She even wrestles 90 pound Mac to the ground. We have to slow her down when she comes back inside, so she does not slip on the wet floor. She is very good about stopping to get her wet paws dried off. Sammy is very excited about the holidays. I assured her that she can take her stocking and presents with her if she finds her forever family before Christmas. She is still doing fine on her medications and she has a vet recheck later this week.

Wednesday, November 2, 2005

Sammy had to have her belly shaved again for her ultrasound last week. She was so good and patient through the whole procedure. We got back good news! There was no mass and no tumors on her organs. She just has a very small abdomen and the organs are situated a bit differently than what was expected. There were no stones or blockages that would have caused her incontinence. All of her blood work looks great. Sammy does have arthritis in her back (as seen on an x-ray) and probably in her hips as well.

Sammy is currently being treated for her ear infections and she is receiving another round of antibiotics for a pesky urinary tract infection. She will be going back to the vet in two weeks to recheck her ears and urine. She will also have a blood test to make sure she is doing well on the Rimadyl for her arthritis. Sammy is continuing her medication for incontinence (Proin). We are still hoping that after she gets rid of the urinary tract infection that we will be able to decrease her dosage of Proin. Sammy takes her medication very well and even tolerates the ear treatments and cleaning.

Sammy celebrated her 10th birthday with her foster family. She shared her presents with the resident dogs and they all enjoyed Frosty Paws. Sammy wore her party hat around for quite a while and enjoyed posing for photos. Mac (the Golden/Shepherd in the pictures) preferred ripping up the hats and kept taking Sammy's right off of her head. Sammy wore a witch costume for Halloween and enjoyed barking at the children when they came to the door. Sammy is just an all around great dog and would welcome any family that would like to meet her or learn more about her.

Wednesday, October 12, 2005

Sammy received some great news from her vet! She is doing so well that she can stop taking supplements for her kidneys. She will need to continue eating a high quality dog food. We have added a Glucosamine/Chondroitin supplement to her diet to help her hips. Sammy sometimes has difficulty standing up after she has been laying down. She is slow getting her legs underneath her. She can slip easily on hard floors, but has not had a problem after we added a few strategically placed rugs. If she does slip, she needs help getting back up. During her vet exam, she had good range of motion in her hips and it didn't appear that she had any problems. Sammy does not have any difficulties with stairs (we have a lot of steep ones) or with jumping into trucks/SUVs. So, her hips only seem to cause her problems when standing up and the supplements should help her with this. Sammy is at an ideal weight right now (79 pounds), so we will make sure she stays at this weight. She takes two chewable tablets each day to prevent urinary leakage from spay incontinence. It is important that Sammy takes one pill every twelve hours to prevent leakage. She has had a very good medical work-up done while in foster care, so she will not need any more testing for a while.

Sammy's forever home will need to provide her with a high quality food and continue with her medication. If you are interested in providing a home for Sammy, I can talk to you about the cost of her medication. Sammy would do fine as an only dog or in a house with other dogs. I don't think she would like to be in a house with a young dog that tries to play with her constantly. Sammy likes to initiate the playing and will reprimand the other dogs if they get too wild around her. I don't think Sammy has lived with cats before. She was only slightly interested in a cat she saw at the vet. I'm not sure if she would try to chase a cat if it ran. Sammy does like to chase squirrels out of the yard, but I think she is really chasing after the other dogs rather than the squirrel. She has lived with young children in her previous home and she was also very gentle with kids at the RAGOM picnic. She loves older kids and would make a wonderful companion for them. Sammy does not require a fence and she would do fine on a tie out. It appears that she has had boundary training, so she should be very easy to train to an invisible fence. Sammy always stays right near her people or the door to the house, even when she is playing in a fenced yard.

Sammy has a lot of "Golden" personality. She loves everybody, likes attention, laying in your lap, putting her paw on your leg, giving kisses, and likes her belly rubbed. But, she is more of an independent dog rather than a Velcro dog. She does not pester you for attention. She waits until you look at her or call her before she comes over to you. She does not have any bad habits. She stays off the furniture, does not counter surf, doesn't get into anything, and barks appropriately. Sammy will sleep by the bed at night or in another room on one of her favorite rugs or blankets. She still does not like the dog beds. She knows the following words: lay down, no, food, treat, go potty, and outside. She always comes to you when called. She does not know "sit", but it is rare that she sits down anyway. She is either laying down or standing.

Sammy will be turning 10 years old at the end of October. Sammy would like a forever home, her own blanket, and some new tennis balls for her birthday. Sammy really hopes that she will be able to spend her next birthday with her forever family.

Sunday, October 2, 2005

For the first couple weeks they are with us, our foster dogs are either crated or baby-gated in a room whenever we are gone. We have had Sammy baby-gated in a bedroom when we go to work and the two resident dogs are loose in the rest of the house. Last week, one or all of the dogs decided that Sammy should not be separated and they took down the baby gate. When I got home from work with my arms full of packages, all three dogs ran out the front door to greet me. Sammy was very good and remained right next to me when she was outside. All three dogs are now loose in the house when we are gone. The dogs are usually alone less than six hours during the weekdays. But, this week we had some long hours and they were alone for ten hours on two of the days. Sammy did just great and has not had any accidents in the house. When Sammy needs to go outside, she will find you and prance around you. If you are sitting down, she will put a paw in your lap to tell you she needs to go outside. If we sleep in too late on the weekend, Sammy will give one short bark to let us know that she can't wait any longer to go outside.

I bought Sammy an "Adopt Me" bandana for her to wear to the RAGOM picnic last weekend. She looked very pretty and she was really excited to be going along. We loaded all the dogs into the back of our SUV, including resident dog Mac. Mac is a former RAGOM foster dog we adopted and it is always an adventure with him. Mac used to get car sick, but he hasn't had any problems in the last year. Unfortunately, Mac chose this day to get sick again and he threw up on the other two dogs during the drive to the picnic. After getting cleaned up, all the dogs had a wonderful time at the picnic. Sammy met lots of nice people, ate lots of treats, and met many of our former foster dogs and their new families. Sammy greeted all of the new dogs very nicely and she was really good with kids of all ages.

Friday, September 9, 2005

Sammy went to the vet this week for an exam and some testing. Sammy's heart sounds great, she has no sign of arthritis, her hips seem good, her ears are clean, and she has no symptoms of allergies. She is now microchipped. Sammy is currently taking antibiotics for a urinary tract infection. Sammy has some lumps and bumps on her (as most senior dogs do) and they are lipomas (fatty deposits). Her blood work came back and most of it looks good. We will be repeating some tests in ten days, because one of the tests indicates that she may have kidney problems. It could be just a kidney infection which the antibiotics will take care of. We will know more in a couple weeks.

Sammy also went to the groomers this week. Her fur was matted down to her skin, so she had to be shaved. She looks very cute and feels so much better. All of the groomers loved her. They made her a bed of blankets in their office and she took a nap before I picked her up. Sammy met all of the groomers' dogs and did wonderfully with them. Sammy looks a bit like a Lab now with her short hairdo. When her fur grows back out, she will have beautiful feathering and a bushy tail.

Sammy is getting along great with the other dogs. She enjoys chasing them around the yard, although she can't always keep up with the younger dogs. When the other dogs are running too fast, Sammy comes over to me and whines. I make the other dogs slow down and then Sammy can join in with the chase again. Sammy gets very excited when it's time to eat. She races down the hallway (carpet), hits the kitchen floor (vinyl), then all four legs splay outward and she slides through the kitchen on her belly, then into the dining room, and stops in front of her food bowl. Now, we have strategically placed rugs in the kitchen so she can keep her footing and still get to the food before the other dogs.

Senior dogs are so nice to have around and Sammy is just a sweetheart. She requires so little and gives back so much. She would do well in any type of home. She is used to living with other dogs, but I think she would be fine as an only dog. I don't know if Sammy has ever met a cat. She is very gentle and has lived with young children. Sammy is quiet, mellow, doesn't get into anything, doesn't chew on anything . . . She is just the perfect dog! Please email placementatragom [dot] org if you are interested in meeting this sweet girl.