Entered: 04/17/2011
Status: Adopted
Age: 3
Color: Liver/White
Weight:
Gender: Altered Female
Location: Rhinebeck, NY
Health: UTD, HW-, good in all areas
Temperament: Good with adults but shy, unknown with children, unknown with dogs other than her housemate, unknown with cats
Original:
After their New York state owner died, Spanky and her housemate Alfie ended up in a shelter. Then, they became MAESSR Springers and a new chapter of their lives began – one with a happy, loving ending in sight.
With all of the changes recently in her life, Spanky has been quite timid in her foster home but is slowly warming up to her foster mom. When going to a strange new place like the vet’s office, she tends to be hesitant to leave the car. Once she was inside at the vet’s office, Spanky was a good patient, but thought the best place to wait was underneath the chairs! Riding there in the car was no problem for Spanky as she just sleeps when the car gets rolling.
At night, Spanky sleeps next to her housemate Alfie in her foster mom’s bedroom surrounded by her favorite toys that she brings with her. Rather than sleeping through until morning, Spanky has gotten into the garbage at night and has had some accidents, urinating inside. The vet recommended that Spanky be crated at night to alleviate these problems. In contrast, during the day, she seems to be housetrained, signaling her need to go out. In the kitchen, Spanky is quite interested in what is on the counter and she puts her paws up to see what is there. Her foster mom is working with her on this issue. Spanky’s forever owners will have to work on training this sweet girl to establish what a good Springer is and is not allowed to do inside the house.
When it is walk time, Spanky does well on the leash. She walks nicely with her housemate staying just by his side so that they touch while they walk along. Just as Spanky needs plenty of exercise, she needs lots of human attention, too, so that she grows in her confidence and trust. Having a dog companion in her forever home would be a wonderful thing for Spanky since she has been around her canine housemate since she was a puppy and really enjoys his company. She has not had an opportunity to meet any other dogs to date in her foster home, though, and she has not met any children or cats, either. Spanky enjoys playing with Alfie and they like to have a tug-of-war to see who will get the toy.
Watch for more on Spanky as her personality continues to unfold in her foster home!