Zoey 6

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Update 10/22/11:

What a difference a couple of weeks makes. Zoey has now recovered from her bout with kennel cough and she feels like a new dog!

Zoey also moved to a different foster home for further evaluation of her temperament. Now that she is healthy, this girl’s wonderful personality is showing. Zoey loves to play with her ball or with toys. When she carries them around, she makes a noise that sounds much like growling. It can take a little while to figure out what the “noise’ is that she is making, but as you get to know Zoey, you realize she is just having FUN. Her foster mom has taken many toys out of her mouth with no problem. Other dogs in the foster home have taken toys and bones from her without incident. It is totally a play thing with her.

Zoey’s new family has not seen any of the resource guarding that occurred in her previous foster home. It is felt that she was behaving that way because she was not feeling well. Zoey wants so badly to please that when her foster mom tells her “NO,” it just about breaks her heart.

Two things are of utmost importance to Zoey. This sweet girl wants to be with her people and she wants to PLAY!!! When you throw in some cuddling, her life is perfect.

Original:

Zoey was relinquished to a West Virginia shelter by owners who said they could no longer keep her in their apartment. It was apparent that they had not been able to care for her adequately for some time since she was very underweight and her coat was severely matted. When they left her at the shelter, they did not even share her name. 

A new beginning sometimes means a change of name, so the shelter staff named her Zoey. Dedicated staff members knew that Zoey was a keeper and made sure that she was not put down. Once MAESSR learned of Zoey’s need for a new home, she came into foster care. 

Zoey is quite possessive of her foster mom and she does some resource guarding of her, sometimes grumbling at other family members when they get near mom. This guarding behavior is something that the family is working on as Zoey needs to know that she is not second in the family hierarchy just behind her foster mom. Zoey’s foster family comes complete with two kids (9 and 10) and a dog! The kids are used to living with a golden retriever who is very laid back and mellow and is sometimes used as a canine pillow to cuddle with. Zoey is not used to this level of closeness and has shown some signs of warning to the kids when they try to lay on her while she is close to her foster mom. 

The golden retriever and Zoey get along fine now that they have established ground rules. Zoey had to let the golden know that sharing Zoey’s food was not an option! Zoey does not mind having her foster mom pick up her bowl in the middle of dinner and she has successfully eaten her food out of the 9 year old’s hand as well. Although Zoey does not want a canine dining companion, she has really been trying to engage the older resident golden retriever in play, but the golden is more into lounging than playing. Zoey doesn’t let this stop her desire to play. Zoey loves her toys! She always has them around and loves carrying them in her mouth. She will even fall asleep with a toy or ball in her mouth. Don’t think that Zoey is a dynamo all the time; she is active when you want her to be active but calm when you want her to be calm. Zoey would probably like to chase cats; however, there are no cats in Zoey’s foster home and that is probably good for the cat population since Zoey goes nuts when she see the neighbor’s cat. 

Zoey is completely housetrained and stands at the door when she needs to go out. Although she is crate trained and willingly goes into the crate, once inside she lets you know that she is not happy about being there! If she is crated when the family leaves the house, she cries the entire time they are gone. She seems to do better uncrated so that she could be near the resident dog.

This little lady has good house manners. She does not beg, counter-surf, or trash dive. Zoey does have a preference for sitting on the furniture, but gets off immediately when told. Then, she hops onto one of the dog beds instead. When a prized position in bed with her foster mom is not offered to her, Zoey contentedly sleeps on a dog bed next to her foster parents’ bed. Zoey’s good manners extend to obedience, too. She knows her basic commands and does not pull when walked on a leash. She is a wonderful companion on walks, polite to those she meets. She just walks right past other dogs with no issues. When it is time to go for a ride in the car, Zoey is a great passenger, but prefers to be in the front seat right next to the driver. So, her foster mom secures her in the back seat where Zoey loves to hang her head out of the window.

Although the vet would like to see Zoey gain six or seven pounds, she has not yet gained any weight because of the amount of exercise she is getting daily! She is being fed good quality food, but she is also probably not used to being active all day! Zoey is regaining her health though. She came into foster care with an infected cyst on her underside that has been removed; luckily, it was benign! Also, she had kennel cough for which she is now finishing treatment. 

Zoey is the kind of girl who is perfect for any dog-savvy family who can give her the structure, training, and love she needs and deserves.