Sadie 7

---

Updated 4/8/07: Sadie’s progress in the security of her foster home is showing. Though she will always be a diminutive little gal, she has now filled out to a good weight of 25 pounds. When she visited the vet prior to spaying, she was found to be in good overall health but did test positive for Lyme disease. She has never shown Lyme symptoms, either before or after treatment, but a course of drug therapy was appropriate and has been completed.

With another month to adjust to her new life, Sadie has become much more comfortable with the other dogs and the people in her home. She has come out of her shell and is showing her playful and mischievous side. She loves to play with toys and she can be inventive. She has made a game out of trying to take crate pads out of the crates and outside through the dog door. She will eagerly chase any toy that is thrown but hasn’t quite mastered bringing the toys back. If there are multiple toys around, she will usually pick a place to gather them after each one is thrown and build up a stockpile of “her” toys.

When first meeting new people, Sadie is still very timid but warms after a little bit into a real love muffin. She has met a couple of older kids and is wary of them, the same way she is about new adults. Her foster family feels she would be best in a home without young children. She is very, very sensitive and responds best to the clicker training method. Indeed, she loves clicker training and will do anything for treats. Sadie will always need people who are willing to be very gentle with her, but she is such a sweet and generally well-behaved dog that there is little cause to scold or correct her.

Sadie is a great little dog and has been a joy in her foster home. Hopefully people won’t let her initial shyness stand in the way of finding out what a great companion she can be. She’s been through a lot in her short life and deserves a forever family that will love her and accept all the love she has to give!  

Updated 3/14/07: Sadie’s foster mom reports that she has settled in nicely and has warmed up a lot now that she feels more comfortable in her new home. She now enjoys playing with the other resident dogs and she has started playing with toys. She loves chewing on bones and tossing stuffed toys in the air and pouncing on them.

She has gained weight, and now weighs 23 pounds. She could stand to gain another pound or two, but is always going to be a very small dog. Sadie is currently going through a bit of a false pregnancy and the vet advised her foster mom to postpone her originally scheduled spay operation for just a bit longer.

Sadie walks very nicely on a leash; she doesn’t pull at all. She does lag behind a bit at times and needs some encouragement to keep up. She is very treat-motivated and learns quickly. She knows “sit,” “come,” “go to bed” (get in your crate), “off,” and she is learning “wait” and “down.”  She loves her crate and can often be found sleeping or chewing a bone inside any open crate she can find.

Sadie is a very cute, very sweet little girl and will make a wonderful addition to a loving family she can call her own.

Original: Sadie was found hiding under someone’s parked car in rural West Virginia and was then taken to a local shelter. In spite of being very scared there, Sadie was very sweet with the shelter staff. It was clear to them that she just wanted someone to love her. That’s when MAESSR came into her life.

Sadie is settling in to her foster home quite well. Very submissive yet very affectionate, Sadie loves her foster family. She loves to be petted and will flop over for belly rubs, like any good springer. Sadie is crate trained and rides well in the car. She is housetrained although she had a couple of accidents during her first few days at her foster home. Since then, she has figured out the dog door and has been accident-free. Sadie’s foster family is working with her on improving her leash manners since she does some pulling when she is on a walk. “Sit” is a command that she knows as well as “off” for getting off the furniture.

There are five resident dogs in Sadie’s foster home. She will initiate play with them but seems to become overwhelmed if the play gets rough at all. Then, she runs away to a safe hiding place for a time-out. To show her subservience to the resident pack members, Sadie does a lot of mouth-licking. She gets along fine with the resident cats, but had to be told that they did not need exercise by her chasing them. There are so many rules for a new girl to learn! Sadie’s doing fine, though.

This little springer is only about 16″ tall and weighed in at the vet at only 20 pounds. Although she is definitely underweight, since she is now receiving good food and getting good health care, Sadie will be up to weight in no time. When she came into foster care she was in season, so her foster family has to wait until she’s been out of season for two weeks before she can be spayed. Her foster family doesn’t mind because she’s a very sweet girl, and they are definitely enjoying her!

Would you enjoy this little sweetie in your life?