Sawyer 16-183TD

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Profile

Sawyer arrived from Turkey living his life as a street dog. When he arrived, he was very dirty, matted, full of bite marks, and not very trusting of humans touching him. He is rather reserved and independent. Sawyer is just the sweetest boy and is adjusting to living in a home, but just needs a family who will give him the time and patience to adjust to his new lifestyle.

At a Glance #16-183TD

Golden Retriever Born: August 2013
Male 54 lbs

Status: Adopted

Sawyer's Well-wishers

Michelle H
"We hope you find your forever home soon!"
Alaina R
"I would take you home in a minute if I could!"
Emel
"I know you suffered too much. I wish you the best family."
Mary R
"Love you!"

Profile

Sawyer arrived from Turkey living his life as a street dog. When he arrived, he was very dirty, matted, full of bite marks, and not very trusting of humans touching him. He is rather reserved and independent. Sawyer is just the sweetest boy and is adjusting to living in a home, but just needs a family who will give him the time and patience to adjust to his new lifestyle.

Updates

Tuesday, April 9, 2019

After 2 1/2 years in foster care, I can finally say I am home! I did not have to travel too far for that; I did not even have to jump in a car to my next destination. I have decided to adopt my foster mom.

Foster Mom knows all of my naughty habits and little triggers that make me a little cranky at times. She has been very patient with me on my new life in the USA.

I had a hard time feeling safe and comfortable here when I first arrived. I had a couple of incidents where I nipped some two-legged strangers which led me back into foster care.

Over the last couple of years, I have learned to try to be patient and trust the two-legged creatures. I have improved tremendously, but am still having a couple of hiccups here and there. Foster Mom can read my body language and knows to remove me from the current situation that is making me nervous.

About six months ago, I just finally learned that I can actually rough-play with another dog and it will not mean that it will end up in a fight. I have also learned to play fetch in the large puddle they call a lake.

I had no idea how to swim when I got here. I would only go up to my ankles and freeze. I just sat back and barked on the dock, watching the others having so much fun swimming around together and cooling off in the water.

Finally, one day, I shocked Foster Mom and took a leap of faith off the dock and chased the sticks around with my fur buddies. Now I absolutely love the water like a true retriever.  Spending weekends at the cabin is another reason I adopted my foster mom.

I wanted to thank RAGOM for rescuing me and my friends from Turkey. But it would not be possible without all of you who sponsor, volunteer, and donate to give us a second chance at life. We love you all for everything that you do for us.

I pray that all animals in need find their way into a rescue and get all of the love that they deserve. Peace, love, and happiness to all.

Love,

Sawyer

Thursday, December 20, 2018

Sawyer has made some great progress on his interactions with people. He is much more comfortable and will approach people with ease.

He had one incident about a month ago at the groomer when she was using scissors on his feet. He attempted to air-snap at her, but she is aware of Sawyer and some of his fearful tendencies, so extra precautions are always made with him.

But on a positive note, he did very well at the vet after he found some mouse poison at the cabin and took a taste of it. Before we went to the vet, I forced peroxide down his throat, and once we arrived, he allowed the staff to force charcoal down his throat. He was a trouper and was awesome at letting the ladies handle him.

He still has issues with loud vehicles that pass us on our walks and when he is in the car. Recently, the vet prescribed him Trazadone for long car rides to the cabin. It appears to help as he does not seem to be as stressed when we pass loud and large vehicles. 

Slowly, we are making progress with this handsome guy. 

Sawyer and I would like to wish you and your family a Merry Christmas and Blessed New Year. And as always, thank you for your support on helping all of the RAGOM babies getting a much-deserved second chance at life.

Thursday, March 8, 2018

Sawyer continues to try his hardest to show us that he really wants to try to be a good boy, even though he will have his moments when he still struggles to let his guard down. Where he had shown that he wants to be a part of the family is that he will jump on the couch with myself and the pack for some cuddle time, and now he will also jump on my bed at night to sleep with us.

He leans into me for some kisses and hugs and loves to have his bum rubbed. Definitely his most favorite part of his body massage.

A couple of days ago, I was grooming Sawyer and tugged too hard on his fur on his belly. He turned to snap at me, but I was able to get him to stop when I redirected him. He has come a long way, but still needs to work on his air-snapping when he feels threatened. Due to this, Sawyer cannot be adopted out to a home with small children.

I also wanted to touch base regarding Sawyer's high prey drive. When Sawyer lived in Turkey, he lived his life as a street dog. He had to fight other dogs for his food and also had to hunt for his next meal. Because of this, Sawyer cannot go to a home with cats or small animals.

He will even get a little too curious with my daughter's Chihuahua at times. I have had applications where they had a dog-savvy cat at their residence, but I honestly think that would not prevent Sawyer from causing harm to the cat.

Also, due to his high prey drive, Sawyer needs a home with a physical fence to keep him safe. He loves more than anything to be outside and protect the yard from any critters and even humans that walk by. He takes pride in alerting me that he is watching over us.

He is actually pretty vocal, so an apartment or a townhome would not be a good fit for him. We are trying to work on that, but are still struggling in that area. He is also not a big fan of loud or large vehicles like school buses, semis, or delivery trucks. He gets pretty agitated when we are out walking and will tend to start to bark and pull towards them.

Sawyer obviously has some behaviors to work on, but with the right, patient family, he could be a wonderful part of your family.

Friday, September 1, 2017

Sawyer has made a amazing turn around the last couple of months. He has been busy watching and observing my pack to finally learn what a awesome life that he has ahead of him. He knows he will always have a full bowl of food and treats waiting for him. He even sits now without any commands before he is given his food!

He has turned into my shadow following me everywhere, even hogging my yoga mat while I attempt to work out around him. Sawyer allows me to examine his mouth/teeth, groom him, and touch his belly and paws. When I come home from work, he is anxiously waiting at the baby gate, barking and jumping around so he can get his hugs and kisses.

Speaking of hugs, I can now give him big bear hugs along with giving him kisses all over his face. And when the sweet boy is watching me put my uniform on for work, he gives me the saddest eyes, making me feel so guilty leaving. He now loves to play fetch and is right now learning to catch a Frisbee.

I could not be any prouder of how Sawyer is learning to trust people and loving his new life as a member of the family. Unfortunately, Sawyer will not be at Goldzilla, though. I feel there will be too many people with all of their hands reaching out to pet this beautiful boy. Sawyer needs time to settle in and trust his family. He has come so far that I do not want to set him back on his achievements.

Thursday, July 6, 2017

Sawyer has made some great improvements the last several months. I have finally earned his trust, so he is now allowing me to groom him, open his mouth to examine his teeth and put his thyroid med in his mouth, and rub his ears and belly. He no longer stares at me from across the room and will actually come up and lean into me for some loving.

He also now sleeps in my bedroom at night. He still won't jump on my bed, but will pace until I get out of bed and bring his bed and lay it next to mine. The closer, the better for him. He walks great on a leash until he sees a squirrel or rabbit. He still gets pretty amped up until the animal is no longer in his view.

Now, as far as his air-snapping, the last incident we had was Mother's Day weekend. It was strange because he laid down next to a female and acted like he was comfortable around her. Once she started to pet him, he turned and air-snapped at her. What I have noticed is that every person that he has air-snapped at has been a female.

My feeling is that he is not the biggest fan of women, probably a result of being mistreated by one in Turkey, but he does not have any issues around men. But like I mentioned, that was Mother's Day weekend, and I have not had any further problems since.

We spent the 4th up at our cabin with a cabin full of poeple, and he was just fine. I just tell the females to let him come to you. Due to his unpredictability, I still require older children/teenagers in the house and not young children.

Once you have earned his trust, he is the sweetest boy. It has taken 6 months with me to finally earn it, but since he has got to the point, I am very confident that with some love and patience, he will do just fine in a new home.

Sawyer 16-183TD
Sawyer 16-183TD
Sawyer 16-183TD

Sunday, March 26, 2017

Welcome back to RAGOM, Sawyer!

So here is a little history on our sweet boy Sawyer. He arrived from Turkey living his life as a street dog. I was informed that when he arrived, he was very dirty, matted, full of bite marks, and not very trusting of humans touching him.

He was adopted out in October, but was returned in late December due to showing some air-snapping at his family when they touched his belly, feet, and mouth. Sawyer moved in with me and my pack to decompress and learn from my pack what it is like to live in a home with us crazy humans and slowly learn to trust us.

Due to Sawyer's previous life in Turkey, he is not your typical, snuggling Golden. He is rather reserved, independent, and content to just stare at the trees, waiting for the squirrels to come down and tease him. He comes to you when he is looking for some short moments of sweet TLC, but then will move on to be on his own.

He has had some incidents of air-snapping with me when his belly was rubbed along with his muzzle while getting some gentle rubs. Sawyer needs to go to a home without any small children where he cannot be startled, but rather a home with teenagers who know he needs time to adjust and feel comfortable on his terms.

He loves other dogs, but has a very high prey drive, so a home with no cats would be ideal for him. Also, he needs a fenced-in yard to keep him from running into the street chasing all of the critters around. He gets pretty worked up to the point where I do believe an underground fencing would not contain him.

Since Sawyer has been in my care, we have found out he has a low thyroid and has been doing well on the meds that he takes two times a day, along with Zyrtec two times a day for scratching.

Sawyer is just the sweetest boy and is adjusting to living in a home, but just needs a family who understands his fear of being touched in certain areas and will give him the time and patience to adjust to his new lifestyle.

Sawyer 16-183TD
Sawyer 16-183TD

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