11/3/2013:

I'd like to introduce Ausia 13-339. She is a 1 1/2 year old female Golden mix. She weighs in at 54 lbs. She was brought in to Red Lake Rosie's Rescue in Red Lake, MN as a stray with puppies. Ausia had a bad cut on her right rear leg with other damage to tendons. She was taken to a vet clinic in Bemidji for surgery. The rescue shelter was full so they contacted RAGOM for help with Ausia and 2 other dogs. Red Lake Rosie's was nice enough to arrange transport to the Minneapolis/St Paul area where I picked her up. Ausia rode very well on the 50 mile trip to my house only whimpering a couple times.

When we arrived at my house, Ausia met my resident dog Ziggy, other foster dog Liberty and cats with no problems at all. Ausia was a bit nervous as most dogs are in a new place, and paced and drank lots of water. When supper time came a little while later, Ausia practically inhaled her food. I don't think she chewed any of it. Ausia was pretty thin and obviously quite hungry.

The first night I put Ausia in the crate downstairs [my bedroom is on the 2nd floor] and was awakened at 3 am by her cries and barks. I got up and let her outside and she did her business out there. Since I knew little about Ausia this was a good sign that she may have lived in a house before and was possibly house broken. The next day I let her out every few hours and she never had any accidents in the house. Most new fosters usually have at least one accident. Ausia started settling in pretty well the second day. I let her sleep in the bedroom that night and had no problems. Ausia slept on the floor and dog beds that night.

The next day Ausia had an appointment at the vet for her wellness check up. Dr. Becky said Ausia was in good shape other than being underweight. The wrap was cut off her leg and no new dressing put on. Dr. Becky thought it would be better to let it dry out since it was healing very well. Ausia was still going to have to wear the cone for a while to keep her from licking her leg. Ausia was brought up to date on all her vaccines, checked for worms and heartworm and tested for Lyme disease. No worms or heartworm but she did test positive for Lyme. Testing positive for Lyme does not mean she has Lyme disease, only that she has been bitten by the type of tick that carries it. Ausia hasn't been spayed yet. I will be scheduling that this week at MNsnap.

Ausia is very affectionate. She loves to be petted and rubbed. She cuddles also but seems like she can't lay still very long. Ausia does jump up on the furniture and will jump up in bed with me. She usually doesn't spend the whole night in the bed. Ausia will jump up on me when she is excited. I'm working on getting that to stop. Ausia also has counter-surfed and got in the wastebasket once. Both of those still need more work. Ausia does have fairly good recall. Ausia does know "sit" very well. She knows she has to sit to get fed. I'm working on random sits all the time. She doesn't seem to know any other commands that I have seen. She does seem to have a desire to learn new things. Ausia now walks pretty good on a leash most of the time. She has improved a lot in the week I've had her.

Ausia is available to meet potential adopters. Since she isn't spayed yet she would have to have a "Adoption Pending" until she has recovered from the spay surgery.

Here are a few of Ausia's highlights so far:

• Ausia has good recall
• Ausia gets along well with all other dogs she has met
• Ausia gets along with cats
• Ausia walks good on a leash but her distance is limited at this point until her leg is fully healed.
• Ausia is very affectionate and loves to be with her people
• Ausia was very good with older kids. Other than stealing food, I think she would be good with younger kids. I've seen no aggression from her at all.

Here's a few things that Ausia would need in her new home:

• A commitment to continued training
• Good food and daily exercise
• Lots of love and attention

Does Ausia 13-339 sound like the dog for you? Contact your placement adviser to meet her and find out.