Entered: 11/20/2004
Status: adopted
Age: 2
Color: Tri color (liver/white/blondish red
Weight:
Gender: Intact Female
Location: Dillsburg, PA
Health: Good, UTD, HW -, gaining much needed weight
Temperament: Good with people and dogs
Update 12/30/04:
Maggie is really doing well in her foster home. Her foster dad feels she is 90% of the way to mastering housetraining. She left him a “present” one recent morning, but he thinks that was, in part, because it was so cold the night before that she cut short her outdoor business before “lights out.”
When she hears the “biscuit” announcement, Maggie scurries into her crate. She has put on a few pounds, and though she still is quite lean, she looks much better and acts much better too. She has fit in very well with the resident dogs and joins in their play activities. She’s great at snuggling with her foster dad on the couch. In short, she’s bloomed into a real nice springer. She will be spayed next week, and shortly after that, this sweetheart will be ready for her forever family!
Original:
When Maggie arrived in her foster home, she was trembling with fear of the unknown. She was in better shape than her foster dad had expected, but she was extremely skinny and ravenously hungry. A vet check discovered the reason for this. She was infested with round worms, but otherwise healthy. She was wormed, is feeling much, much better and is already gaining weight.
It is clear that Maggie is a sweet little springer who has much to learn about living indoors and the daily care she receives. Her foster dad started by gently cutting the mats out of her ears. It seemed likely she’d had them for a very long time. She was terrified of a collar and had probably never worn one. It follows that leash training is new to her too. The warmth of being indoors is part of what Maggie is adjusting to well. She has just learned how to go up and down stairs and finds it easy now. She has learned to go to her crate when her foster dad announces “biscuit.” She naps there when he’s at work and enjoys going out for a stretch when he comes home.
The yard is still new to her, but grass underfoot feels sooo good. Along with going in and out for exercise is housetraining which she is making progress on. Maggie also has learned to like curling up next to her foster dad’s feet when he watches TV. There are resident springers and a lab in Maggie’s foster home and she is OK with them.
When a MAESSR volunteer visited the group of 5 before they came into foster care, she felt the dogs were apparently good with kids, although they seemed very energetic and might be best with older children. She could also see that they would bark when they saw cats, but it is unknown how they might be if living with one. More information will come as Maggie is in her foster home longer.
Maggie will need an adopting family who will continue to guide her daily as she grows to her potential. An obedience class would help her bond with her forever family and give her confidence is her growing world. As for Maggie, right now, she thinks that becoming a MAESSR dog was her early Christmas present and thanks Santa for her “new beginning.”