Introducing Belle 16-026TD!  Yes, TD- she is one of our Turkey Dogs.  Belle was found in one of the shelters in Turkey and RAGOM felt this beautiful girl should have a home of her very own.  She arrived in the United States early in March and arrived in South Dakota on March 6, 2016.  She has transitioned to her new homeland very well.  She is about two years old.  She is spayed, microchipped and up to date with all her immunizations and preventatives.

Resilient is how I describe Belle.  She is trusting, playful and smart as a whip!  We weren’t sure what to expect from a dog that had been living in a shelter in a foreign country for much of her life.  We wondered silly things like “will she even know English as we try to train her?”  Well, she showed us!  When she first arrived, she was pretty nervous- panting and pacing quite frequently.  She was a “champion counter surfer and pulled on her leash like a freight train” to quote her foster angel that had her overnight the first night in the United States.  Perhaps she was a bit jet-lagged as well since sleep was fleeting that night.  What a difference a week makes…

Belle has learned that being up on the counter will not get her what she wants but sitting nicely will.  She has learned several commands:  sit, stay, down, come, no and heel.  With the help of a Gentle Leader, she no longer pulls and walks in perfect heel position.  She has not had a single accident in the house.  Perhaps she knew all this before.  We like to think she is THAT smart and learned all that in her first week with us.

Miss Belle is young and extremely playful.  It will be important that she find a forever home that helps her burn off that energy in a constructive way.  She loves to run in the yard, play ball, and does great on long walks.  I think she would be a great running companion.  She chewed through a leash, destroyed a dog bed and tried teething on the car seat during her ride to South Dakota, but I think part of that may have been anxiety.  Since she has been here, we keep a close eye on her and she has not chewed anything she shouldn’t.  We have taken a shoe or two from her and left on her own she may have found them tasty.  With lots of toys and chew items, she is quite content to just play with those.

Because she is young and still learning, she does not have free roam of the house when we are gone or at night.  She kennels beautifully and respects the baby gate we use to keep her out of our lower level.  We also kennel her for her own protection.  Her foster siblings are old and crabby and don’t appreciate her playful nature.  She has never been aggressive toward them, but they make it very clear to her that they DO NOT want to play with her.  She is feisty and tries to take toys from them which is not well received.  She, on the other hand, shows no sign of food or resource guarding with humans or the crabby resident dogs.  She attended a meet and greet this weekend and interacted with all the people and dogs like a champ!

She is a true Golden in spirit and beauty.  She leans in for rubs.  She paws you if you dare stop petting her before she is ready for you to be done.  She even got to sleep with Foster Dad when Foster Mom was away and snuggled all night long.  She has gotten along well with the kids she has met. 

In the week that Belle has been here, she has blossomed into an amazing creature that will be greatly missed when she finds her forever home.  Traits that we will be looking for in her forever family include an active lifestyle where walks/runs will be part of her daily routine; she would love a companion dog as long as they could play together; continued training-she loves to please and be challenged and is highly treat motivated-agility would be right up her alley; and, of course, lots of love.  If you have these qualities to offer, please consider opening your home to this beautiful girl.