Zoey 5

Original: Zoey and her housemate Sophie were relinquished to MAESSR because of their owner’s serious health issues and difficult economic situation.

Zoey settled into her foster home nicely acting as if she had always been there. She gets along well with everyone, both two legged and four legged. She doesn’t even care that there is a resident cat. Zoey is always a happy gal. Her foster family have two children, a two-year-old and a six-year-old, and Zoey does very well with them. Actually, she loves to lay on the floor with the two-year-old and give him kisses. Although she gets along great with the little one, her foster mom suggests that Zoey be placed in a home that does not have little things (like toys) lying on the floor. Even though she’s ten, Zoey chews up little things that are on the floor just like a puppy would do. She is not allowed to have balls or rawhides because she grumbles at you when you try to take them away. Zoey is not aggressive in any way, but it would be best not having her put in a position where baby toys need to be taken from her. She’s not food aggressive at all, though. You can sit by her bowl and pet her, and she will even let you take food out of her bowl.

Tipping the scales at 65 pounds, Zoey should probably weigh no more than 45 pounds. Since she is very much overweight, her foster parents are feeding her weight management food. The additional exercise she is receiving is helping in her weight reduction program, too. Zoey loves snooping around the yard close by the other dogs.

Zoey was a very good girl at the vet as she got her vaccination boosters! Additional testing is going to be done to find the cause of an elevated liver enzyme count. The vet tech was so impressed with her because even though they were jabbing her to get the blood samples, she was still her happy-go-lucky self. Oh, she was great riding in the car to her vet appointments and anywhere else that her people are going.

Zoey’s house manners are great with the exception of shoving her head in the refrigerator as soon as the door is opened! She is not crated because she is a very good house guest and is completely housetrained. One thing with Zoey (that hopefully will stop when her health concerns are under control) is that she whines a lot. She drinks an excessive amount of water and has to pee constantly. She does very well with holding it while her foster parents are at work. Because of her whining, her foster family keeps her in a separate part of the house at night. Zoey is content there sleeping in her deluxe dog bed that her previous owners sent along with her.

Watch for more on Zoey! She is one sweet love bug who will make a loving addition to any family!

Update 02/19/09: Drum roll, please!! On a recent evening Miss Zoey actually was able to get up on her family’s love seat all by her little self! Yes, her foster mom said little Zoey has lost at least 10 pounds now. She is still working on more weight loss but has come so far in 2½ months. She has just finished her second round of antibiotics to treat a urinary tract infection and will be retested to be sure it’s all cleared up. She has a brand-new haircut and her groomer said she was GREAT in all aspects of her grooming. She is so darn cute and will be sharing her new pictures soon.

Zoey is truly a sweetheart and loves everyone she meets. On more than one occasion, she has stolen a bologna sandwich from the 6-year-old human in her family, so a home with older kids would be ideal for her…. or a home that doesn’t allow their kids to eat in the living room! Zoey doesn’t try to steal anything when her family is at the dinner table eating; it’s always when the little guy goes to sit down that she is successful at bagging his food. Actually, she lies down by the door while the family eats, good girl!

At night Zoey is now sleeping on her brand-new dog bed in the little boy’s room and does very well. She does great with the 4 other dogs living in her home now too. She has had some scuffles with the resident beagle but that is mainly because the beagle is doing the picking, not Zoey.

With the urinary infection behind her, Zoey will be spayed shortly and will be available for adoption soon. Keep an eye on this wonderful family dog. There’s a chance she’ll steal your sandwich, but she’ll steal your heart for sure!