Entered: 08/13/2012
Status: Adopted
Age: 3
Color: Black/White
Weight: 40 lbs.
Gender: Altered Female
Location: Gloucester, VA
Health: UTD, HW-, very good health
Temperament: Good with adults, has met very young children well but may live best with older ones due to her exuberance, good with other dogs once she realizes they are not a threat to her, unknown with cats
Update 08/24/12:
Good news continues to come on Piper……..she went for her checkup with the veterinarian and, other than the fact she could use a dental cleaning, she is in perfect health! She received a booster vaccination which brought her up-to-date and had her microchip placed, making her basic vetting needs complete.
Piper also has met her foster parents’ grandchildren and was perfect with them. She even went and gave the 1 year-old a couple of kisses. That must have been a Kodak moment!
With more hands on, her foster family can see that Piper will need a little more work on her leash manners than originally thought. An official obedience class to teach/reinforce commands as well as walking on a leash would be good for her with an adopting family.
Piper continues to show she is a sweet, lovable and active little girl who will make someone a wonderful addition to their family!
Original:
When a baby boy was born to her North Carolina family nine months ago, Piper’s life changed radically. Her owners found that they just did not have enough time for both her and the baby. Piper has a very high energy level and needs a great deal of exercise and owner attention which they were not able to give her. Piper had begun showing some needy behavior and some jealousy of the now toddler. So, her owners contacted MAESSR to find their pretty Springer a new home.
Her foster parents have found Piper to be a real people pup, loving everyone she meets and readily rolling over for a belly rub. She loves to be the center of attention and is always checking out what is happening to see if she wants to be involved.
Piper has nice house manners and is both housetrained and crate-trained. When she needs to go outside to relieve herself (or just to play), Piper goes to the door to signal her desire. She is currently being crated when no one is home mainly because she would continue to try to play with the older dogs who aren’t really up for her young shenanigans! Piper is quite nosey and will put her paws up on the counter or table to check out what is going on, but she hasn’t yet tried to take anything. She hasn’t shown any desire to chew or tear up items inappropriately; she even has a pillow in her crate which she uses for what it is designed for, having a soft, cushy place to rest. In the car she has been crated, riding quietly and calmly to her destination. It was suggested by her original owners that she be crated in the car, as she reportedly likes to move around the car quickly, which could be hazardous. At night she sleeps quietly in the master bedroom with the rest of her foster family, two-legged and four.
Although Piper knows some of her basic commands such as “sit”, “stay”,and “come”; she definitely needs continued training to reinforce what she knows and work on learning new commands. She walks relatively well on a leash. Her foster family is working on reinforcing the fact she does not need to jump up on people to say “hello” and that she must wait her turn for her food or snacks and take them from you gently. She is getting much better in these areas; she just needs to be reminded.
Piper has allowed her ears to be cleaned and paws to be handled without any fussing. Her foster parents can pick up her food bowl while she is eating without her objecting, too. She does seem to guard her food bowl from the other dogs, even once it is empty, but she doesn’t seem to guard her toys from the resident dogs. It was reported in her original home that she was starting to resource guard the mom when on her lap, so as stronger bonds are formed in her forever home, this would need to be watched.
Outside, Piper is always active with throttle wide open, running at full speed and checking out the yard and its scents. She loves to chase tennis balls but needs a little work on bringing them back after the chase! She would like her people or the other dogs to chase her while she has the ball! Running with the resident dogs is great fun and really burns off some of Piper’s energy! It was reported by her previous home that she LOVES the water and loves to play fetch in the water. Her foster home has not yet had the opportunity to confirm this but, if pictures are worth a thousand words, her previous family provided pictures for proof!
More adventures are in store for Pretty Piper as her foster parents continue to get to know her. They plan to take Piper to a friend’s house where she can meet their resident cat. Also, Piper will get to meet the grandchildren who will be coming to visit soon!
Piper’s foster parents think she would be an ideal addition to an active family, maybe with older children who would love to have a companion to play ball with and go hiking with. Piper is also an expert at cuddling and would love to cuddle up with her family as they are watching TV on the couch. Piper soon will be ready to join her new family!