Entered: 09/01/2009
Status: adopted
Age: 7
Color: Liver/White
Weight:
Gender: Altered Female
Location: Silver Spring, MD
Health: UTD, HW-, brown teeth due to having had an antibiotic as a puppy
Temperament: Good with adults and other dogs, untested with young children but friendly to those she’s met on the street, not good with cats
Original: Ellie Mae came to MAESSR because the family that she joined when she was just seven weeks old dissolved in divorce. She spent several years being shuffled between different family members and most recently living “the college life” with the family’s son. Now that the son is about to graduate and plans on traveling, he no longer has a place for Ellie Mae. Always a family dog, poor Ellie Mae no longer has any family. All of this change has taken a toll on her. Because Ellie Mae doesn’t know where she belongs and to whom, some of her training has disappeared. Her previous owner recommended that she have a refresher course in obedience but noted that Ellie May has always been a quick learner.
After two weeks in their home, her foster parents agree that Ellie Mae’s house manners have slipped: she begs from the table and likes to sleep on the couch or a bed. She prefers to drink from a freshly flushed toilet. She can’t resist taking tissues from a trash can. If she gets out, and she did quickly learn to open a side door, she has no recall. Her foster parents are working on her manners and also keeping the side door locked. She sleeps in a crate at night but would prefer to sleep in the same room as her family. She is housebroken and will go to the door when she needs to go out. She does not guard her toys or food. As a nearly-9-year-old, she is calm in the house and will lie quietly by her foster dad’s side as he works at home.
Ellie Mae has some fear-based aggression when visitors first come to the door, and she has to be restrained. However, after being tossed a few treats, she wiggles right up to the visitors to be petted. And, after they have been in the home for a while, she will try to crawl up on the couch beside them and rest her head in their laps! Her foster parents think that her door aggression will pass after she becomes more secure, and with a little conditioning from helpful neighbors. The more she associates visitors at the door with good things, like treats and petting, the more welcoming she will be. Although untested with small children, her previous owner reported that she is good with children of all ages. She is not good with cats, squirrels, and rabbits, or any other critters that appear good to hunt, though.
This senior enjoys the company of other dogs and greets them enthusiastically on walks. She also likes to swim. At her first MAESSR picnic, she mixed easily with the other dogs and joyfully ran into the Chesapeake Bay for several long laps. She rides well in the car.
With love and stability, Ellie Mae will be a happy, obedient dog. Can you give her the family life she once had and craves again?