Entered: 03/15/2014
Status: Adopted
Age: 7
Color: Liver/White
Weight: 51 lbs.
Gender: Altered Male
Location: Fayetteville, WV
Health: UTD, HW-, Lyme-, benefiting from medication to manage arthritis and supplements to support joint health
Temperament: Good with adults, has played ball with 6-10 year-olds with ease, good with dogs, has ignored cats when meeting in public and has reportedly snuggled with some
Update 06/25/2014: “His foster family is beginning to think of him as a quintessential Renaissance dog!”:
A quick update on Mr. Ching………..it’s been a month since his mix of medication and supplements was tweaked and the benefit is showing. The frequent limp he’d had has disappeared. His overall pace is quite leisurely but he’s had a few very active days and showed no signs of setback or discomfort. He’s a happy boy!
A few weeks ago he traveled with his family to MAESSR’s Virginia Celebration in Williamsburg. Always at ease among new people and dogs, he took in everything the weekend offered: a pre-picnic gathering at a volunteer’s home, hot dog diving at the picnic, an opportunity to try nosework, a twilight walk in Colonial Williamsburg and meeting a new and somewhat anxious foster that traveled home with him at weekend’s end. His foster family is beginning to think of him as a quintessential Renaissance dog! He will adapt easily to new opportunities with an adopting family and will quickly establish himself as a much loved addition to the home……..a very lucky boy!
Update 05/22/2014: “He enjoys meeting new people; with a relaxed and pleasant manner, he turns heads and folks welcome his ‘hellos.'”
Ching has been a joy to foster. He cocks his head with a quizzical expression much less often these days. His foster mom takes that to mean he’s figured her out to his satisfaction and she feels the same about him. He’s a very steady dog that’s at ease with every new opportunity coming his way. He enjoys meeting new people; with a relaxed and pleasant manner, he turns heads and folks welcome his “hellos.” He “can go anywhere!”
Along with discovering Ching’s splendid personality, his time in foster care has focused on how to address his arthritis. Understanding how it impacts him has evolved; a combination of meds, supplements and activity management work best. As for meds, he takes 2 doses as mealtime appetizers. Supplements go down just as easily and will be ones he’ll require indefinitely.
As for his activities……….Ching benefits from light exercise daily. If he does overdo, he typically rebounds overnight with a good long snooze. He loves being outdoors and does nicely on leashed walks along fairly level, soft surfaces. One spring outing was along a mile and a half of the C & O canal towpath. He set a steady, leisurely pace for his walking companion and sat patiently when visiting others along the way. He slept soundly at the trail’s end and did 2 other shorter walks the same day without showing tenderness or discomfort. When off-leash in the woods, he moves with typical Springer-enthusiasm. He’s a delight to watch hunt but has short endurance. A half hour is enough to satisfy without overdoing.
Ching also loves to play ball and is the most accomplished dog at catching a toss mid-air that his family has ever seen. His need to play is easily met; short tosses, rather than ones all the way across the yard, work best. He still triumphs with each return. He tends to self-limit by simply sitting down to chew his ball when he’s had enough. Indoors Ching’s doing a flight of stairs regularly so as to be where ever the family is and half a flight to the outdoors for pit stops. Though handling this need well, it would be great if his next move was into a home with fewer stairs in his daily life.
Toward finding his match, Ching has many, many possibilities. He could be a wonderful ambassador for a family that does outreach for MAESSR. He was comfortable with the busyness of the Langhorne Springerfest and would enjoy meeting people at fairs and festivals. He might be considered for therapy work or entry level nose work. He could bring companionship to a resident pet that worries when home alone, and, Ching himself would likely benefit from sharing his home with another pet or with people who are home a lot. Given how social he is, living with a family that would take him everywhere with them would be even better. Folks who choose to stroll along towpaths or rails-to-trails paths for their own exercise would be well-paired with Ching. He’s not really a special needs dog but he does need special people who will cultivate his strengths, accept his limitations, and treasure his companionship. If this sounds like you, please ask about meeting him. He may cock his head at you too but will quickly figure you out………..:)).
Update 04/23/2014: “He takes treats from little hands gently.”
Sakoi, known to all as Ching these days, was so well-behaved at his first vet exam that returning for further diagnostics was an easy call. X-rays were done during his second visit to better understand the extent of his arthritis and to fine tune treatment. Some untreated cruciate damage was also detected when he was under sedation. A medication was started which may bring added benefit for Ching. He continues to be sensible with stairs and does them constantly. A slight limp that seems to come from his front end remains noticeable at times, particularly when he’s on a hard, flat surface like concrete. On soft or irregular surfaces, it disappears. After digging a sizeable hole in the yard one afternoon, he showed nary a sign of tenderness in those front legs……yeah! He understands he can’t jump into the family SUV and doesn’t try; he waits with dignity for a boost. He doesn’t seem to be in pain, has no problems with rising after a good slumber, and is always up for a ball game. With appropriate management, the hope is that gains made now toward joint support may keep him playing ball well into his senior years.
Now for the fun stuff…………Ching is a terrific dog, low-energy and smart, all in one handsome package. He has an incredibly steady temperament. He tunes into everything around him……..light traffic, heavy traffic, people of all persuasions, pans dropping on the floor, grooming table toppling…….he processes everything and responds appropriately without fanfare. He continues to get out and about and is a real pleasure to be with when meeting people. He’s really good at sizing them up. If folks aren’t interested in meeting a dog, he passes on by them. If people show any interest, he will step forward to calmly say “hi” and accept petting. If people are dog lovers, he senses the energy that goes with their immediate interest and his tail and soft body language speak volumes about his good nature. He has been just as relaxed with younger children as adults. He takes treats from little hands gently. Never once does a paw come off the ground as he soaks up attention.
Ching has been home groomed and is good with all that goes with it. In the shower or on the grooming table, brushing, nail trimming, and ear cleaning……..it all works for him. There was one minor mishap that cinched his foster mom’s opinion of his temperament. While trimming dew claws one evening, she accidently cut one too close. It surely hurt. Ching jumped away and landed on the floor on his feet, looking up at her calmly as if to say “OK, let’s move on.” Not a grumble, not a hard look………truly an amazing dog.
Shortly, Ching will be ready to make his home with a new family. He could be a wonderful ambassador for MAESSR in the hands of a volunteer who enjoys going to fairs and festivals with their dog. Therapy work also comes to mind for Ching. In the meantime, he’ll enjoy people at MAESSR’s first Springerfest of the season in Langhorne on the 26th. If you’re there, please say “hi” to him. He’s looking forward to meeting everyone!!!
Original: “With a tail that flutters, and a trick or two, there’s nothing not to love about Ching.“
Through no fault of his own, Sakoi found himself in a high-kill shelter in southern Alaska. Reportedly his owner had taken ill and was no longer able to care for him. A very lucky boy, Sakoi met a Good Samaritan at the shelter who had experience with Britts and Springers and a soft spot in his heart for a good dog. This man adopted Sakoi, arranged his vetting, bought him a crate and then a plane ticket to West Virginia. When seasonal work ended, Sakoi accompanied his new owner home and became a MAESSR boy a bit later. Never intending to keep him, his rescuer wanted Sakoi to have a committed family that would love and care for him and play ball with him! His rescuer also tagged his boy with a nickname that the dog answers to well, Ching, so “Ching” it is in his foster home.
Ching does have a passion for a ball game and, a large, black Kong ball is his toy of choice. He initiates his game by dropping the ball at his foster mom’s feet; however, she’s found that if she resists picking it up, he will place it in her hands. Once started, he returns the ball to her hands every time. If the resident Springer gets into the game and reaches the ball before Ching does, he’s very gracious and lets the resident return the ball without making a fuss. If the resident decides to lie down with the ball and guard it between his paws, Ching stands back patiently and waits for his foster mom to intervene so the game can resume. A ball game may go a half an hour and can be fun indoors or out for this boy. He’s ready to play several times a day and always displays great sportsmanship!
Good house manners come easily to Ching too. He’s housetrained and hasn’t looked twice at the kitchen counter. Nor has he nosed into any non-doggie things. Before meals he amuses his family by rolling over without a cue and then promptly goes into his crate for kibble. When his family is out of the house and when he travels, he crates with ease and does some napping there too. When his family is home, he has run of the house. He has accepted invitations onto the couch for cuddle time and will share that space with the resident Springers if they get there first. At night he settles on a thick dog bed in the gated bedroom along with the rest of the family and sleeps through the night.
At his vet visit, Ching calmly noticed everyone in the waiting room with interest. He was cooperative when examined and only winced when getting his microchip. He checked out very well but did show some mild arthritis in his back end and a knee. Supplements have been started to support joint health and there will be not more ball chasing on the slick kitchen floor. There are lots of stairs in Ching’s foster home. He takes them carefully but they don’t keep him from going anywhere he wants.
Ching’s a moderately active dog with a soft, intelligent and engaging expression. He’s working on 2 basics while in foster care. Leash walking is one of them. Taking treats with greater gentleness is the other and already he shows nice progress. With a tail that flutters, and a trick or two, there’s nothing not to love about Ching. He’s easy to live with, adaptable and has only one special requirement………….he will need a family that enjoys a good ball game as much as he does!!