Sponsored by:

Maria and Herb H.

"In loving memory of Roseann C, magnificent Mom to Magnificent Max 15-166"

Meet Bayla! This beautiful dark red 5-year-old Golden Retriever girl came into RAGOM last week! Bayla is officially hanging up her hat from her previous job of being a mama. She is ready for her “retirement” and is already enjoying living indoors and being spoiled!

Bayla has yet to have her first vet visit, as we wanted to give her a few days to chill out a bit before subjecting her to another car ride and scary experience. We do know that she has two small mammary masses that will be removed when she is spayed and sent to make sure that they aren't cancerous, and she also has very dirty ears. Bayla is also overweight, and when we take her to the vet, we will find out just how much she weighs. I'm guessing between 85 and 90 pounds! At her vet visit, she will also be brought up to date on vaccinations, be microchipped, and have a fecal and heartworm test done. She has already gotten one bath and allowed me to clean her ears and trim her long toenails without any incident.

Bayla is shy and timid, especially around people. In the time that she has been with us, she has gone from cowering in the corner of her crate to approaching us, but she is still leery of us. We are teaching her that she can trust us. She’s not your typical happy-go-lucky Golden Retriever right now, but with continued socialization and enough time to settle in and trust, she will make a wonderful, happy dog for some lucky family! To see how much she has learned to trust us in just the few days she's been here is remarkable. With dogs, on the other hand, Bayla is more friendly and outgoing! She immediately took to my 4-year-old resident Golden, Finn, and our 10-month-old puppy, Sully. They are teaching Bayla how to come in and out of the back door and that good things come from people! Bayla has spent her whole life with other dogs and looks to them for comfort. Due to this, it is required that Bayla have another medium- to large-sized confident dog in her forever home. Bayla also requires a physical fence since she does get scared and is not easy to catch if she got really freaked out. I do keep a leash on her in case I need to catch her (I can just step on the leash), and it is recommended that her new home do the same at first. Most of the time, she will come up to me now, but there are still times that she’s a little too scared to come to me. Bayla is used to being around kids and is not afraid of them. A forever home with kids 10 or older would be a great match for her!

Bayla has not had any accidents in our home. She is crated for a full work day without any issues and she considers her crate to be her safe place. She did decide to bust out of her crate once to chase the cat, which is why we are recommending that she does not have a cat in her forever home, as she sees them as prey. She is eating well; we have started her on a measured amount of high-quality food. Bayla walks surprisingly well on a leash, although she does freeze if something is especially scary! She is willing to follow me and has gone on a few short walks so far. She is nervous about all of the new sights and sounds, but she takes it all in stride! Bayla has not shown any resource guarding and I don't expect that she ever will.

We want to thank everyone who was involved with getting these beautiful girls into RAGOM! It takes a village sometimes with these dogs, and we are so thankful that RAGOM has such awesome volunteers that are willing to do whatever it takes! We are honored to be a part of Bayla’s journey.

Do you think this beautiful girl might be a good fit for your family? Are you okay with putting in the extra work, time, and patience Bayla will need to become the dog we know she can be? If so, please contact your placement advisor! We know you will fall in love with the amazing girl as quickly as we have!