Dotty

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Update 03/07/08:

Dotty continues to do well in her foster home. She totally loves being with her foster mom and goes where ever she goes. Dotty loves to be cuddled and loves having one-on-one attention. She still prefers the resident cats and humans to the dogs in her foster home. She has to be watched when the excitement level is up among the resident dogs, but, otherwise, she is OK with them. When they are quiet, she will lie in the midst of them on the floor. Dotty is an awesomely sweet Springer and would love to have a home where she is the only dog. Her choice of who she spends time with are the cats and she could share her adopting home with one or two cats as well. 

A return to the vet was necessary when Dotty developed a urinary tract infection. She is taking a short term medication to put that behind her quickly. While waiting to see the vet, Dotty would roll on her back for a much needed belly rub to help pass the time. What an easy gal!!!!

Dotty loves to go on her walks and gets a very excited look on her face, as if asking, “Can I go? Can I go?” She loves visiting an older neighbor whose name is Dottie too! She has met Dottie’s cat and, just like at home, they sniff each other and each are satisfied. Car rides bring their own fun for Dottie. She just loves the stuffed tiger in the car and will play with it while traveling.

When it’s time to “go,” Dotty continues to let her foster mom know by scratching at the door. In the mornings, if her foster mom is not quite awake, Dotty will whine a little and give a tap on her foster mom’s head with her paw! Dotty now knows her place at night is on her blanket. She curls up there and will not try to get on the bed. 

This is a truly charming and gentle Springer with a preference for feline companionship that is second only to her love of humans. She’s looking for both in her forever home. Got kitties??

Original:

Dotty was relinquished to a shelter in eastern New Jersey due to the owner moving to a rental where dogs were not allowed. Then, Dotty came into MAESSR. 

This snuggly, loving Springer thoroughly enjoys being petted and cuddled by her humans. Dotty attached herself to her foster mom rather quickly and follows her everywhere. Dotty enjoys one-on-one attention. The more pats she receives, the closer she gets. When her foster mom stops petting her, she will give a nudge and with those pleading eyes say, “Please don’t stop”. Sitting on the floor next to her foster mom, Dotty likes to nuzzle very close. At bedtime, Dotty wants to come up on the bed, but being told down and given a few reassuring pats, Dotty will curl up on her blanket on the floor. Come morning, she will join in the rush with the resident dogs to be left outside.

Dotty is more people and cat-oriented than she is dog-oriented. Upon arriving at her foster home, she met the four resident dogs. After sniffing and greeting each dog, she basically ignored them. Dotty was more intent on checking out every nook and cranny of her foster home. Dotty’s previous owner stated she was food bowl aggressive, so Dotty is fed separately from the resident dogs in her foster home. Dotty has no food aggression with her foster mom who can pet her while she’s eating and take the food bowl from her with no issues. Dotty will grumble if she is drinking and a resident dog comes near. If the resident dog is drinking first, Dotty will wait until he or she is done. Dotty had no problem taking treats with the resident dogs around her and she takes them very gently. 

Dotty’s foster mom’s coming home from work is the cause of great excitement with the resident dogs and this seems to stress Dotty out. Then, she will engage in a tussle with the resident dogs. Her foster mom has learned that Dotty’s attention must be diverted away right when this happens. Then, she will settle down and ignore the other dogs. Dotty does allow the resident, eleven-month-

old ESS to lie next to her. And she will lie in the midst of the resident dogs on the floor. Dotty has shown a little interest in playing with the resident Springers, but will walk away from them just as suddenly. 

Dotty has met the resident cats and appears to like them better than the dogs. She sniffs them and then goes about her business. When a declawed, neighborhood cat met Dotty, they sniffed each other and then the cat swatted Dotty on the nose. Nonplussed, Dotty still wanted to play with her, but the cat wanted no part of Dotty.

When Dotty had a bit of ear scratching, she calmly allowed her foster mom to clean her ears out with no issues. During her vet visit, she had her nails clipped. She did very well at the vet, but she did get a little scared while the vet was checking her heart/lungs; otherwise, she did fine. Dotty has gotten a bath and a grooming in her foster home. She did very well with her bath and rub down. At grooming time, she was a perfect little lady getting her hair done. She had no problems with her ears or paws being touched and groomed. She has the shortest little tail and she sure knows how to make it move when she sees her foster mom coming!

Dotty is totally housebroken and she signals that she needs to be let out by scratching at the door. She mastered the doggy door and loves to go out and play in the snow. She went into four paw drive running through the snow! She was very curious about the stationary dog in the backyard and barked at it. Upon closer inspection, she found no response from the dog as it is a cement figure of a springer. Being satisfied with that, Dotty went about her business.

Dotty knows sit, come, and down commands. She will respond to a whistle from her foster mom and come running up from the backyard. Dotty likes to sit on the deck and watch the passersby. She will bark at them, but when told to be “quiet,” she will stop barking. She loves to go for walks and will pull a bit when something is especially interesting to her. Then, she settles into a steady walk besides her foster mom until something else becomes interesting. Dotty does not countersurf at all and will sit patiently for her food bowl. She does not jump up on people unless she wants immediate attention and even then, it is a very soft jump where she just leans on the person.

Dotty is crate-trained and will go in readily when told. At first she didn’t want to, but has gotten used to the idea. She behaves well inside the crate, lying contentedly on the pillow. Dotty has started playing with some toys – a tennis ball and a rope toy – and will roll all over the floor on her back on top of them. She will grumble a bit if a resident dog comes near when she has a toy. Dotty does not chew on anything inappropriate and has not destroyed any of her toys. Dotty does very well in the car and sits quietly on the back seat or sleeps or plays with a toy. Dotty has gone shopping at the local pet store and did well with sniffing some dogs that were there. She did pretty well on some sale items she found also!

Dotty is a sweetheart of a Springer with a loving personality and soulful eyes. She loves her human and likes cats; however, she would do best as the only dog in the household. This loving and cuddly dog will nestle right into your heart as she nestles into your lap. Could that someone she wants to nestle with be you?