Chloe 18-061TD
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At a Glance #18-061TD
| Golden Retriever | Born: October 2014 |
| Female | 56 lbs |
Status: Adopted
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Updates
Sunday, June 7, 2020
I’m long overdue for an update on Chloe and her sister Belle (Kooper 19-261)
Chloe came to our home in May of 2018 after being rescued by Emil in Turkey. She filled a very deep hole left when we lost our beloved Shane six months earlier. Chloe is a sweet loving little girl who is a big hit in the neighborhood. The little girls up and down our street call her Princess Chloe of Turkey.
It took Chloe a good year to settle in, including learning how to survive one of the worst winters on record in Minnesota! Her poor feet would get so cold on walks she’d hold them up for me to rub them, or she’d just lay down and I’d have to call my husband to come pick us up! (Chloe won’t poop in our yard, oh no, she has to go 3-4 blocks before the magic happens.) She wore her red Nordic sweater and Kurgo jacket with pride but like most kids, had no interest in putting on her boots!
Chloe goes by Peanut, Sweet Thing, Boo and Girlfriend. Meal times are her favorite minute of the day. She dances and jumps and can’t wait for her dish to magically appear.
Not long after we got her, in order to help her relax, I’d “tuck” her in every night on her dog bed in our bedroom. I’d tell her to put her head down, and then I’d pet her from her nose back to her tail, telling her how much we loved her and to have sweet dreams. I do that to this day and now she sees me coming and lays her head out and stretches and sighs and once I tuck her in, she doesn’t move the rest of the night.
We decided last year that Chloe would probably be happy with a companion as she was so eager to hang out with other dogs. She loves our son’s dog Aspen and seemed lonely whenever Aspen would go home.
So, when we learned of Kooper (19-261), we reached out to her foster mom who is a friend of ours and asked about her. We found out SHE was fostering Kooper!
We were disappointed to learn that Kooper was being considered for another family, so we waited for another pup to be available. We were thrilled a few days later when we learned the first family wasn’t a perfect fit for little Kooper and we were next in line! In early January, after she was spayed, Kooper, now called Belle, came home.
My husband and I decided to name her Belle, which means “Beautiful” in French. Given her breeder couldn’t sell her to a pet store because she wasn’t pretty enough, we thought she was beautiful and deserved a fitting name. Belle was also younger than first thought which we learned when her adult teeth started coming in much later than we expected.
We have no idea what caused the scar on her nose but it gives her a roguish little sneer, which as she’s approaching 7 months old is utterly hilarious as a “teenager.” She’s got the eye roll, dramatic flounce and sneer all perfected when she’s discouraged from doing something she shouldn’t. Which is most of the time! (Who knew Liquid Fence was so appealing to puppies? I’ve lost more flowers to the puppy than I have to the rabbits and deer I was trying to repel!)
Belle and Chloe are very best friends and hit it off within five minutes of meeting each other. They play, Chloe often bracing for impact when Bellie is a blonde incoming missile. They worked out the rules of engagement of their games early on and no one has ever been hurt or yelped or ended up with hurt feelings.
Belle loves my husband and is bonded to him like I was Shane. He holds her and she completely melts into him. Belle is into her 9th week of Puppy Boot Camp having graduated from Prodigy to PhD. Unfortunately, COVID interrupted training, but she is now back and loving every minute. We love how tired she is after a full day of learning and playing!
She goes by Baby Belle, Bellie, Belle-Belle, Hell’s Belles and Tinkerbelle. Of course, the little girls on our street now have two princesses, now with Princess Belle of Rochester!
Belle also gets tucked in at night now that she’s graduated from a crate to her own dog bed. She’s not quite as good about staying in bed as Chloe but she does settle quickly once the lights are out. I miss my little 18 pound fluff ball but don’t miss tinkle on my floor!
As of this weekend, Bellie is only 5# less than Chloe, so I looked up “how big is a golden retriever puppy at 6 months of age.” It’s a little alarming knowing she’s only 2/3 of the way there!!!
We are so grateful to have these two little cuties in our lives—they seem really happy with us and each other. Thanks to RAGOM for continuing their mission of rescuing and rehoming Goldens and giving us the opportunity to give these two a great life with us.
Thursday, May 24, 2018
After a long journey to Minnesota, Chloe has found her perfect forever home. She will be the most pampered only dog of a great family and get to go to work with her mom, go on long hikes, and visit local dog-friendly patios this summer. Chloe deserved to live the Golden life, and she has found it with her new family. We will miss this sweet girl, but know that she is where she is meant to be.
While Chloe is Turkish, her foster family is Irish, so a blessing for her new journey:
May the sun shine, all day long,
everything go right, and nothing wrong.
May those you love bring love back to you,
and may all the wishes you wish come true!
Tuesday, May 8, 2018
We took a trip up to our cabin this weekend to open it up for the summer. Chloe was a bit unsure of where we were going on such a long car ride and didn't know what to make of the new place. She did great, though, and really loved hanging outside and in the water.
But at the end of the day, she was first inside and claimed her spot on the couch.
Monday, April 30, 2018
Chloe made the long journey from Turkey last week, and she has settled in so well. When her rescuers sent her information to RAGOM asking if we could take her, they described her as "total love." In the week she has been with us, we have found this to be so true. A sweeter, gentler, more loving Golden girl I have yet to meet.
Chloe quickly made herself at home in our house. After she shook off the jet lag, she explored the house and the yard and must have found it to her liking. She loves the freedom of exploring the yard, but also does not want to be left out alone and will be the first to the door when we are all heading in.
After that, she will find an unoccupied couch and snuggle in for a nap. If a person is sitting next to her, that is even better! She has the Golden nudge perfected and will paw at you to make sure you are touching her and petting her.
Unlike some of the dogs from Turkey who have spent their entire lives on the streets, in the forests, or in the shelters of Turkey, Chloe had lived in a home. Twice, in fact. Her first family, who had purchased her as a puppy, brought her to the municipal shelter when she had outgrown her puppy cuteness. Another family found her at the shelter and because of her awesome disposition and smaller size, took her home.
A few weeks later, she was found wandering the streets of the city. The family who had taken her home said that they no longer wanted her, and so she went to a rescuer with hopes she would find her way to a loving home in the U.S. Months later, here she is in Minnesota, ready to find her forever home.
Chloe had her vet visit last week, and she is very healthy. She is slightly overweight at 56 pounds (ideal weight is 48 to 50 pounds), but that weight will come off quickly with good quality food and lots of exercise. The exercise part is easy, as she absolutely loves going on walks and exploring her new country.
We walk every morning now that it is lighter earlier and every afternoon. If the leashes do not come out at the right time, she gets restless and hovers by the door as if to say, "Come on, it is time to go!" She will need a family that is very committed to ensuring she gets these walks, not only for the exercise they provide but the exposure they provide to a world outside of the home environment.
At her vet visit, we also had them look at her right eye. Evident in pictures sent to us from Turkey was a white spot on her right eye. RAGOM's regular vet was unsure what the spot was, and thought perhaps it was congenital, but did say she has sight in that eye. Chloe will be seeing an eye specialist in May to evaluate what the spot is and if there are any treatment requirements for it. We will update as soon as we have more information.
In the short time we have had Chloe, here are the most important things we have learned:
- She does not love a crate. We do feed her in the crate to get her comfortable with it, but have not yet left her in it for any period of time beyond meal time.
- She does great with free roam in a gated area of our home. Chloe has not had any accidents since arriving. Since I work from home, she has not been left for long periods of time. However, when we have had to both be gone at the same time, we gate her in one area of the house with our resident dogs, and she has been great.
- We leave all the dogs with a treat and as best as I can tell, she just curls up either on one of the dog beds or the couch and waits for us to return. At this point, I have no idea how she would do being left alone for a full work day and would prefer a home where someone is home with her more often than not during the day.
- She is good with other dogs. We have two resident dogs, and she does very well with them. They are older and do not really play, but they do provide guidance to her on the "rules" of the house. We did have a former foster this weekend who is younger and much more playful. Chloe was fine welcoming him to our house, but did not really engage with him a whole lot. Really, I am not sure she knows how to play and was not sure what to make of his invitations to play.
- Cats are a complete unknown. We do not have cats, and as far as I know she has never been exposed to them. Because "cat testing" dogs by having them meet cats in another foster's home is not the best way to see how a dog will actually live with a cat, any family interested in adopting her will need to have a plan in place to keep the cats separate and allow only very slow exposure until it is sure that she can live with cats.
- Children: Chloe has been very good with everyone we have met on walks, but we do not have young children in our home anymore. Due to her gentle nature, I am not too concerned. But she needs to be in a home where children are very respectful of her space, allow her to settle in to a new environment, do not grab or hug her unexpectedly, and with parents who will always monitor their children's interactions.
Chloe is truly a very special girl and deserves a forever home where she can settle and know she will never be abandoned again. She really is pure love and will bless the home of some lucky family with love.