Lou

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Update 05/20/08:

With lengthy walks and the benefit of a normal thyroid level now, Lou has lost another 2 pounds. Yahoo! Her foster mom jokingly calls Lou her roly-poly girl but with this progress, a new nickname may be needed soon! Lou is doing well on her antihistamine too and is very gentle when taking medications in those tasty pill pockets. With more energy and her mild allergies under control, Lou loves her walks and investigating in the backyard. 

Playing with lots of fun toys is also a pastime that Lou likes a lot. She especially loves the squeakies and tug ropes. She is so strong that you’ll have to brace against a tree if you want to win a game of tug with her. That said, she has never pulled on her leash, preferring naturally to walk right alongside her foster mom, even when the foster sister is 6 feet ahead of them! Lou is a Velcro Springer, so belly rubs are her favorite reward for being good – and she gets lots of them!

Lou’s house manners remain very good. She has been in her foster home for 2 months and has not had one accident. She has become much more comfortable with being left alone for longer periods with her foster sister and is reliable for an 8 hour day. Regarding her foster sister, Lou is starting to behave much better toward her. Perhaps with improved health, Lou is mellowing a bit. She now lets her foster sister eat alone in peace and is starting to learn that she should not be so bossy with her. 

Through no fault of her own, Lou had been passed from one home to another before landing in a MAESSR foster home. With attention to minor health issues and the likelihood of more activity in her life than she has had for some time, Lou is just now beginning to shine. She’s ready for a committed family that will continue what has turned this gal around in two months. In short, Lou needs a place to call home! Can you provide the much needed stability and love for this sweetheart???

Update 04/23/08:

Lou is doing great in foster care. She has finished her series of antibiotics and her skin has cleared up beautifully. She has also lost 7 pounds already and weighs 68 now. Medication has brought her thyroid level up to normal. She has beautiful coloring.

She has mild allergies, mostly bothering her eyes and paws. She is on an antihistamine to ease this and is responding well to it. Lou is able to walk up to four miles at a time and can keep up with her fit and spry foster sister. The vet thinks Lou’s allergies may be seasonal, so she may not need the antihistamine year round. When on both meds, the cost will run about $15 to $20.00 a month.

Lou is showing her true colors with time to settle in her home and as she has started to feel better. She is living with a very submissive foster sister. At first, Lou was submissive, too, but she has become food aggressive and, at times, grumbles and scraps even when no food is involved. For this reason her foster mom feels Lou would do best as an only dog. 

With all humans Lou has been sweet. She will wrestle and play with older children but seems to know who to be gentle with. She has been around children as young as three and older kids up to seventeen years. She knows lots of tricks, including a high-five with both of the paws in rapid sequence. She has had no accidents in the house and sleeps peacefully. She’s no watch dog, as she prefers to be in the company of her foster mom and not looking for the mailman, the UPS truck, or the guy next door mowing his lawn.

Lou is a joy to have around. Can you commit to helping Lou continue with her weight loss program? Do you need an excuse to lose some weight too? Lou would be your perfect companion for Dog Tag Boot Camp!! Do you have room for an active companion in your home? She’s almost ready to move her fitness program to a forever location!!!

Original:

Lou’s family couldn’t keep her after their divorce and she had been living with a couple different friends of the family over the last year. Finally, this Maryland girl was relinquished to MAESSR. 

Lou had not been to the vet in two years so her foster mom took her in for a thorough checkup right away. She had many skin infections and a very inactive thyroid which is why she is 25 pounds overweight. She is now on antibiotics and with the help of medicated shampoo is well on her way to healthy skin again. Luckily, Lou enjoys her bath time and is good in the tub. She started her thyroid medicine and gets it twice a day. This is a very inexpensive medication and it is very effective. She has already started to lose weight and enjoys exercising. Lou is starting to act like a Springer again and was even caught counter-surfing! The vet complimented her on her nice clean ears, great teeth, and nice soft fur, so she was very good at the vet. 

Lou knows the commands sit, down, no, out, walk, and shake. Excellent on the leash, Lou does not pull. She also rides very well in the car, choosing to lie down in the back seat; she just doesn’t like to be up front. Totally housetrained, Lou sleeps peacefully on a dog pillow outside her foster mom’s door throughout the night. Since Lou’s large frame cannot be accommodated in the foster family’s dog crate, she has not been crated and, frankly, does not need it. She and the resident dog have free reign of the house while their people are gone. Both are very well-behaved. 

Lou is not very vocal and only barks if the resident Springer starts barking first. Although she is good with her foster Springer sister and enjoys her company, Lou prefers being with her foster mom and likes to know what she is up to 24/7. That’s a good way of getting more exercise, too! Her foster family knows Lou is very smart. When she runs out of water to drink, she tips her heavy bowl and rolls it around the kitchen so that her foster mom fills it back up! This sweet girl is gentle with the three young neighbor girls when they come to pet her and give her treats. To Lou, there is no such thing as strangers, only friends. 

Lou won’t be ready to go to her forever home until we make sure she is 100% healthy and back down to a more desirable weight. But this girl’s heart matches her current body size and when she’s ready to go to her forever home, you will be lucky if it’s yours!