Nadia was welcomed to the Golden Life on October 16, when she arrived from China after being rescued from the Chinese meat trade. She arrived frightened and unsure, but quickly showed our family and Golden brothers how loving and smart she is. It was tough to keep her in quarantine for ten days because she is very social and curious.

Nadia, at just one year old, is a very small Golden. Weighing in at only 40 pounds, she is about the size of a Springer spaniel. Her small "fun size" quickly earned the nickname of "Munchkin" or "Munchie." We also call her "baby."

Her little stature does not hide her big, happy personality. She is loving, goofy, smart and loves to be pet and snuggled. She loves playing with her two Golden brothers, but does not require another dog in her adoptive home.

Nadia is a smart little one. She knows her name and the words "sit," "off," "come," "go potty," and "leave it." She learned to sit quickly and waits patiently for her treats.

She is an accomplished counter surfer due to the limited food that she had in China. She loves to eat, so watching her food intake to keep her weight down is important, and possibly using a puzzle bowl to feed her to prevent her from gobbling her food down too quickly.

She loves toys and will hoard them in her crate, especially balls and bones. She will resource guard the toys in her crate, but will share toys in the common areas of her house.

Children in Nadia’s forever home should be at least 8 years old and understand that it will take time for Nadia to get used to them. They shouldn't take toys from her or reach for her or her toys when Nadia is in her crate. They also should be patient and let Nadia come to them. She will warm up to them in a very loving way, but it has to be on her terms.

Her wire crate is her domain and if she gets frightened, she will run to her crate to chill. She should have a wire crate with a blanket over it at her furever home, to help her transition to the Golden Life. She crates nicely at night and for four to five hours during the day while we are at work.

Nadia does not require another dog in the home, but she would love to have a brother or sister. She is happy-go-lucky. She loves to walk on a leash with a harness and does not pull. She loves to chase leaves in the yard and roll in the snow. She is so happy to walk around the yard with a tennis ball in her mouth and walks so proudly to show everyone her toy.

A fence is not required for Nadia. She does have an interest in poop, so we keep things cleaned up so she cannot partake in any poop sampling. She is a bit of a drama queen who communicates with little huffs and sighs at times, which we find pretty cute.

She is a sweet little one that still has a lot of puppy in her. She is very active and will need to be watched continuously in the house. We are working on potty training and simple commands, but she will need more training. She is eager to learn and is treat-motivated, so training will be an excellent bonding activity for her new family.